The Only Truth (Gilmore Girls)
by G-Girl2017
Summary: Story is set after Season 7 - Eighteen months after Rory turned down Logan's proposal and she watched him walk out of her life for good at her graduation. What happens next? Rated M from Ch15. Title comes from Niall Horan's "This Town" - a song about still pining after an old flame.
1. Here We Go Again

Logan settled back into his seat to get comfortable and watched out of the window as the airplane ascended over Palo Alto, his home for the past eighteen months since he had left Connecticut, and her, behind. He'd made several trips back East in that time but none of them had the same meaning as this one. This time he was heading back to Hartford for good, having tied up his business affairs in California once and for all, after he had received the news that his father had been unwell.

Hearing that the great Mitchum Huntzberger had developed a serious heart condition had come as a little bit of shock to all the family, including Mitchum himself. Logan had been stupefied when his father had called him up a few weeks back and asked him to take over the reins at the Huntzberger Publishing Group while he recuperated from the triple bypass operation that he had to undergo suddenly.

There was no denying that Logan had a strained relationship with this father, which had only become more difficult over recent years since he had struck out on his own, but while Logan had once rebelled against the pre-ordained life that had been presented to him since his birth, he had no desire to see his family's business falter. When push came to shove, he knew that whatever had happened between him and his father in the past, blood was most definitely thicker than water and when needed to, he would step up to the plate.

The return to Hartford and back into the fold of the Huntzberger Publishing Group was made a little easier down to the fact that Logan's career had gone from strength to strength in Palo Alto over the past year. This was something that so important to him. He was not returning to his father's company with his tail between his legs but rather, he was returning to as a success. He could have felt sad about the life he was leaving behind in California, the life he had made for himself out there, but the truth was, it was a life he had imagined for him and her and when that dream was never realized, his enthusiasm for it had waned.

Rory Gilmore had broken his heart the day she turned down his proposal. He knew that it had been a bit of a curveball, after all, they'd never really discussed what a future together would look like but he had been so sure they were on the same page. Every day for eighteen months he had regretted walking away from her on that fateful day. He knew that he should never have issued a stupid all-or-nothing ultimatum but his own pride and stubbornness had prevented him from calling her to say sorry, though he had toyed with the idea many times and even come close to dialling her number on occasions. Logan had thought that maybe he would hear from her at some point, but she never called or even emailed and while he had tried to keep up with what she was doing in her career – the last he had heard she was taking off on the Obama campaign trail with Hugo – his many late night Google searches always proved fruitless. Logan had even taken to looking her up on Facebook and while he could see that she was registered, her profile was locked down and he had never been brave enough to actually send her a friend request as he didn't want to risk another rejection, however small.

Logan had tried to move on from Rory. There had been other girls of course, but nothing nearly serious as he had never quite felt ready to make a commitment to anyone else. He'd lost none of the famous Huntzberger charms in this time but none of the women he met in California had the magic mix of quick wit, intelligence and exuberance that his ex-girlfriend possessed. After Rory, he found he couldn't even go back to his old womanising ways – she had changed him for good and he no longer found satisfaction from bedding a different girl every week. He was searching for the committed relationship that he once enjoyed with her, but even after all these months had passed, he still couldn't imagine that life being with anyone else.

There had been an unspoken rule that nobody in his circle mentioned the name, Rory. This wasn't a problem at all for his mother who was certainly happy to pretend she never existed. His father had been disappointed that in the end Logan and Rory's relationship had broken down – they'd got off to a rocky start but he had discovered over time that she had been so good for him. Mitchum had realised that all the positive changes in Logan had come as a result of Rory's influence – whether she had meant them to or not. He'd stopped messing around with the Life and Death Brigade so much studied more and had developed and demonstrated a more mature attitude towards his future career. Naturally, Honor had been disappointed, she'd always had a soft spot for Rory and had come to view her as the sister she never had. She'd hoped that Logan would see sense and chase after Rory but she never pushed it.

Logan's friends knew better than to bring her up in conversation. At one time they'd all been friends together and had shared some fun times and experiences. It was hard when reminiscing about past exploits to keep her out of them, but the truth was, after she had graduated and their relationship had ended, the gang went back to being Logan's friends. None of them had kept in touch with her since then and she had seemed to disappear out of Hartford society just as easily as she had slipped into it in the first place.

Now Logan was once again heading out and starting a new life for himself. Despite all of his reservations, he was actually looking forward to taking the helm at HPG and starting to rebuild the fractured relationships with his family.

* * *

Several hours and a short nap later, Logan's car pulled up to the outside of the Huntzberger mansion. He stood outside the imposing front entrance and took a deep breath. The house had been the scene of many an unpleasant altercation between himself and his family and while he'd also had a lot of happy times there, in the past few years he'd always felt the same imposing sense of dread when he entered into what had become known amongst his friends as the 'Dragon's Lair'. Logan knew things were slightly different now; he was there as a more mature person and while he was once again there at his father's request, this time he was not to be on the receiving end of a dressing down. He appreciated that it hadn't been an easy thing for Mitchum to do - to swallow his pride and ask for Logan to come back.

"Logan!" Shira exclaimed as he walked into the living room. She jumped up to greet her only son with a kiss on both cheeks "It's so good that you're here!"

"It's good to be back mom" Logan smiled before turning to his father "Dad, how are you feeling?"

"Can't complain Logan, your mother here is an excellent nurse" Mitchum smirked. "or at least, she's excellent at instructing the staff…" he laughed as Shira pouted.

"Logan, you must be tired, do you want something to eat or drink? Maria! MARIA!" Shira hollered for their maid.

"A glass of water will be fine mom" Logan laughed to himself as he thought about how nothing had changed in the time he had been away.

The maid gingerly entered the room.

"Ah, there you are Maria. Can you fetch my son some iced water? He's just got off a very long flight. And bring some tea."

"Of course ma'am". Maria said quietly as she exited the room.

"Now Logan, I know you've had a long journey. You may want to go rest and freshen up as we have friends over for dinner tonight." His mother smiled at him sweetly.

"Here's hoping it's not another precious fish dish" Mitchum joked.

"Now Mitchum, you know what the doctor said," Shira said sweetly "You need to cut down on your red meat, so they'll be no more steaks for you for a while".

Mitchum groaned and turned to his son and whispered. "We'll be heading to New York next week, make us reservations at Keens, they do an excellent Chateaubriand".

Logan laughed and nodded at his father. Mitchum was recovering well from the operation he'd had a few weeks ago and the doctors had told him there was no reason he wouldn't make a full recovery. He had however taken the heart problems as a big warning sign and had decided himself that it was time to slow down a bit and enjoy his life. Mitchum had dedicated decades of his life to working his butt off and making HPG a big success, and it was time to actually enjoy the rewards that he'd reaped. Part of this was bringing Logan back on board to take on as much as was possible so that Mitchum could take a step back and put in fewer hours.

"I'm actually going to head out into Hartford for a bit I think. I need to keep going or the jet lag will get to me. I think I'll get the ball rolling with some realtors – I'm going to need somewhere to live and all my boxes will be arriving from Palo Alto in a few days". Logan had arranged for all his belongings to be shipped from his apartment in California and while everything was rosy with the Huntzbergers right now, he had no intention of staying with them for any longer than he had to. He figured the quicker he got on to finding a place of his own, the better for everyone.

"That's a good plan son" Mitchum nodded. "Makes sense to get settled before the real work starts".

* * *

"Well, I think we have all the information we need to start the property search for you Mr Huntzberger" The realtor Stacey smiled at him sweetly. "If you need anything else in the meantime, please don't hesitate to call me," she said handing over the business card. Logan smiled back. A couple of years ago she would have been just his type – blonde, beautiful, impeccably groomed and perfect to lose himself in for a one night stand but those days were gone. He simply wasn't interested in that life anymore.

"Thanks, Stacey. I look forward to seeing what you come up with" Logan said as he took her card and walked out of the office into the street.

It was a beautiful day in Hartford, unseasonably warm and all around were people enjoying the weather – exercising, walking their dogs, playing with their children or simply enjoying an ice-cream in the sun. Logan couldn't help but think that it felt really good to be there. California was so great in so many ways but he was an east coast boy at heart and being there, in Hartford, it was comfortable and reassuring. It was home.

He was completely lost in his own thoughts as he wandered down the street. Just as he was about to enter another realtor's office, something, or more accurately, someone, caught his eye across the street and stopped him in his tracks.


	2. Decoy

Logan stood frozen to the spot, not sure whether to call out or just pretend he hadn't seen her. It had been so long. What would he say? In the end, before he really even knew what was happening and before he could stop himself, the words just tumbled out of his mouth.

"Hey! Lorelai!"

Lorelai, who was absentmindedly admiring a dress in a shop window immediately spun around to see just who was calling her name. It was a rare occasion that she actually bumped into anyone she knew in Hartford so she was surprised to hear someone calling her.

"Logan!" she exclaimed, somewhat shocked as she realised that the person calling her name was none other than her daughter's significant ex-boyfriend and one-time near fiancé. Lorelai hadn't seen or heard of Logan in a long time and the last she'd heard, he had actually made the move to California and didn't come back this way very often so he'd been pretty much the last person she had expected to see that day. Lorelai took a deep breath as she watched him as he crossed the road to greet her properly.

"Wow, Logan, it's been…" Lorelai paused as she mentally tried to add up exactly how long it had been since she had last seen him walking away dejectedly at Rory's graduation.

"….about eighteen months" Logan finished the sentence for her.

"Sure" Lorelai nodded and smiled " So, how have you been Logan?"

"Oh you know, pretty busy. California is keeping me on my toes."

"Right. Of course. Looks like it's been treating you well, the sun-kissed surfer dude thing is really working for you" Lorelai joked. Logan had always been extremely good-looking but his time in California had meant that his hair had got blonder and he had a slight golden tan which only added to his overall appearance.

"Ha, thanks," Logan said as he brushed his hand through his hair. "It's taken some adjusting to the lifestyle that's for sure. I'm not really into yoga and juicing, you know the healthy living type of stuff. Green liquid for breakfast was never really my thing."

Lorelai shuddered at the thought "Well quite. Who in their right mind would want green goo for breakfast? I tell you, it's all that California sunshine, it's fried their brains".

"I couldn't agree more" Logan laughed "Hence the adjustment, they're not quite at the same level of coffee drinking as us east coast dwellers…Anyhow, you look like you have been kept pretty busy yourself!"

"Huh?" Lorelai asked him confusedly.

"Who is this little princess" Logan gestured towards the baby girl sitting quietly in the stroller that Lorelai had been pushing.

"Oh, right, yes." Lorelai smiled, catching on. "Yes, busy is one way of putting it. Life has certainly changed a bit since I last saw you. This little ray of sunshine is Lily".

"Hi, Lily!" Logan said crouching down with a smile "She's a real beauty" he said looking back up at Lorelai. "She's definitely got those dazzling blue Gilmore eyes huh."

"She sure did" Lorelai smiled down at Lily proudly. She was biased of course but Lily really was a heart-stealer with her wide blue eyes and cheeky dimples. Everyone who met her fell immediately in love with her. Lorelai watched as Logan effortlessly made the baby girl break out into a toothless smile. "I never knew that you were so good with children!"

"Nor did I, but my sister Honor has a little girl herself now. Her name is Ophelia or we call her Fifi for short, and what can I say, it turns out, I am a natural!" Logan said standing back up. "She's lovely Lorelai."

"Thanks - and you seem to have completely won her over already. You'll have a friend for life! Damn that Huntzberger charm" Lorelai joked. "I forgot how the ladies always fell at your feet."

"Ha, I don't know about that" Logan laughed. "At least, there's not been too much falling at my feet recently anyhow."

Lorelai cocked her head to one side. "So there's nobody special in your life at the moment then?" She knew that she was straying into dangerous territory and sticking her nose in where it really wasn't her business, but she was intrigued and couldn't help herself wanting to know a little more about what Logan's life was like.

"No, nobody special. Though, I have seen a whole heap of totally unspecial people" Logan joked before his faced turned a little more serious. "So….erm…how…"

Lorelai knew exactly where Logan was going with his next sentence but he didn't seem able to bring himself to say her name. She looked at him sympathetically with a gentle smile. "Rory's fine" Lorelai interrupted his thoughts. "She's keeping herself busy, you know Rory, always on the go, never stops for a minute that one" she shrugged with a smile. Lorelai paused before continuing, "She's actually around her somewhere" she added, a little nervously as she looked over her shoulder. She was unsure whether telling him that Rory was in the vicinity was the right thing to do or not but she didn't want to risk them running into each other unexpectedly and as yet, she couldn't quite tell whether Logan would welcome seeing his ex-girlfriend or not. He was obviously interested in hearing about her in some way but Lorelai noticed that he had visibly tensed when she had mentioned her name.

Logan's head snapped up and Lorelai saw something flash quickly across his face. It was a look that she couldn't quite determine. He said nothing so she continued to ramble nervously in her own imitable way. "Yeah, I am meant to be meeting her soon so I had better get going as it's almost time for Lily's lunch and nap and don't be fooled by that innocent wide-eyed look she has on her face, you know how grouchy us Gilmores get without food."

Logan smiled. He remembered only too well, though he had tried often to put all thoughts of Gilmores out of his mind, or one in particular anyhow. "Of course, I'll let you get on your way. It was good to see you Lorelai. You too Lily" he said smiling at the little girl who beamed back up at him. He waved as he walked away before turning back. "Say hi to Rory for me".

Lorelai smiled brightly. "Sure, of course. Bye Logan" she said as she turned Lily's stroller around and started to walk towards the coffee shop where she was meeting her daughter.

All kinds of thoughts were running through her head as she walked down the street. Logan looked good, healthy but he didn't seem very happy. He was clearly putting on some sort of brave face for her – she'd noticed the mask sleep when she mentioned her name. Did he still have feelings for Rory or was he still hurting after she turned down his proposals? He certainly didn't seem comfortable talking about her. Lorelai didn't know whether she should mention seeing Logan to Rory. They hardly ever spoke about him – it was normally a subject that was totally off-limit but this was different. If she didn't tell her and then Rory found out at a later date she'd be mad, wouldn't she?

* * *

Lorelai pushed the stroller through the doorway and walked over to where she could see Rory sitting at a table reading a newspaper. Lily had fallen asleep so she parked the stroller next to her and flopped down on the chair opposite. Rory looked up.

"You're late," she said as she eyed up her mother.

"So, you'll never guess who I just bumped into?" Lorelai said, ignoring Rory's first comment. Lorelai was always late, it was her thing.

"Oh, I love this game!" Rory rubbed her hands in glee "This easily fills a few dull hours…"

Lorelai scowled at her daughter. "I'm serious! You will NEVER guess who I just had a conversation with on the street."

"So in the interests of saving time, why don't we just cut to the chase and you tell me already!" Rory said picking up her coffee."

"Logan". Lorelai said quickly looking at her daughter.

Rory spat out her coffee. "Huntzberger?"

"Hey!" Lorelai shouted "Say it, don't spray it!" she said as she wiped down her dress. "You know more than one Logan?" she rolled her eyes at Rory.

"No," Rory said sarcastically. "Actually, I don't really know any, anymore," she added quietly.

Lorelai gave her a sad smile. The break-up had been hard on Rory. She hadn't felt ready to marry Logan but she in no way wanted it to be the end of their relationship. She had missed him terribly and it had taken her a long time to get used to him not being in her life anymore.

"Yes, Logan Huntzberger."

"What was he doing here?" Rory asked, "He's still living in California right?"

"Oh, I didn't ask him why he was here," Lorelai said "but yes, he's still living the Californian dream. He looked good Ror."

Rory scowled. "I don't want to know about that mom!"

"I'm just saying!" Lorelai said as she put her hands up in defense.

"What did you talk about?"

"Erm, you know, the usual, juicing and yoga. I inappropriately asked him if he had a girlfriend…"

"Mom!" Rory yelled.

"I don't know where it came from! I couldn't stop myself! I was nervous, I developed a bad case of word vomit." Lorelai complained to her daughter before she added: "The answer to that question was apparently no by the way" she said with a raised eyebrow. "And then I introduced him to Lily".

Rory frowned. "Why? Logan's never been interested in children."

"Because he asked about her, it would have been rude and slightly weird for me to have pretended like she didn't exist when she was sitting right there dribbling and demonstrating some impressive gurgling noises in front of us both".

Rory rolled her eyes. "You didn't…" she asked tentatively.

"Of course I didn't!" Lorelai sighed.

Rory breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at her daughter Lily sleeping soundly in the stroller next to her.

"You could go talk to him you know"

"I don't need to talk to him," Rory said firmly.

"There's nothing you'd like to say to him, or tell him?" Lorelai asked incredulously.

"No" Rory snapped. "And stay out of it, it's none of your business"

"Oh, that's real nice Rory!"

Rory dropped her head into her hands. "I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean it to come out like that," she said as she looked up at Lorelai. She knew she had hurt her mom's feelings and she felt bad. The truth was it absolutely was her business. Nobody had been there for Rory like Lorelai. When she was broken and confused and facing difficult decisions, Lorelai had completely and utterly supported Rory in every way possible and she knew that there was no way she would have got through the tough times she had faced without her. Rory didn't mean to snap at her mom but the fact that Logan was in town and her mom had spoken to him AND he'd met Lily had completely set her on edge.

"C'mon, let's go. We should get Lily home". Rory said quietly.

Lorelai nodded quietly and followed her daughter as she stood up and pushed the stroller out of the coffee shop.

Rory paused as she stepped outside and felt her heart almost stop as she looked down the street, just in time to see Logan, the man she had once loved with all of her heart, walking out of a shop and down the street in the opposite direction. She bit her lip and quickly looked the other way.

"You sure you don't want to go say hi?" Lorelai said gently as she looked back down the street.

"I'm sure," Rory said as she walked away without looking back.


	3. Hard Times

Rory carefully placed her sleepy daughter down in her cot and turned on the musical mobile hanging above. As the soothing lullaby music played and Lily's eyelids became heavier and heavier Rory sat by the side of the cot and intently studied the little girl that had changed her life so much.

Seeing Logan today had been a complete bolt out of the blue. Over recent months she'd taken a leaf out of her mom's book and become quite the expert at compartmentalizing. For a while, Logan had been all she had thought about but she had managed to push him far away into the back of her mind. That was until today. It hadn't always been easy to do, especially as time went on and Lily grew bigger, she seemed to look more and more like her father every day and so Rory faced a constant reminder of the love that she had lost.

Rory had made peace with her decision not to tell Logan about Lily. Most days she felt pretty okay about it as deep down she believed she had done what she was best for them. However, there were still the occasional day when she wondered if she should let him know about Lily, so that one day when her daughter asked about her father and wanted to meet him, it wasn't going to come as a terrible shock.

As she watched her daughter sleeping, Rory thought back to when she had first discovered she was pregnant. It had taken her a while but eventually, she had come to accept that the situation was what it was. Even though the act of becoming pregnant may have been unconscious, the choice to go through with her pregnancy and face parenthood alone, wasn't. Her family and friends had all presumed that the father was Logan but Rory refused to enter into the conversation and on occasion had even led them to believe that someone else had fathered her child, such was her need for him not to find out. Only Lorelai knew the truth for sure.

Once the shock, the anguish and the hard decision-making was over, Rory had allowed herself to be a little excited and even happy. The baby she was carrying wasn't the result of a brief fling or a one-night stand with a nameless stranger. She had been in a committed relationship with the father and they had loved each other, truly loved each other. There had been many times throughout her pregnancy that she had wanted to pick up for the phone and call Logan but something always held her back. It had felt so final on her graduation day and while she still wanted to believe that he loved her, he had walked away and made no effort to contact her again. He had moved on and she needed to do the same.

Giving birth to her daughter, was, and remained one of the most spectacular experiences of her life, the achievement of which she most proud of, the moment when she felt she truly became who she was destined to be. Luckily for Rory, single mothers and their children were no longer the social outcasts that they had been at the time Lorelai had found herself pregnant and her grandparents were more supportive than she could ever have imagined. She had no money and so she was grateful when they offered her the pool house again as a temporary home. She loved living in Stars Hollow with her mom but it was cramped quarters. Here in Hartford, she had more space and privacy.

For the most part, she was pretty content with her life and the only times Rory had really allowed herself to wallow in her own sadness was when Lily started to achieve her 'firsts' – first smile, the first time she rolled over, the first time she ate baby apple sauce. More often than not Rory found herself alone at these times and it was then that she had to pick up the phone and call someone to share the moment - Lorelai or her best friend Lane. Inevitably they would be out and so they would hear the news by voicemail several hours later when the moment and the excitement had passed. On more than one occasion Rory had sat on the sofa, hugging her knees to her chest, bursting with pride but dripping with tears, wishing that her daughter's father could be her side, to gasp and coo with her at yet another tiny, but momentous development in their baby girl's life but she had resigned herself to the fact that it was never going to happen, because her daughters father had no inkling that she even existed.

Parenting was something Rory found rewarding in so many ways but being a single mother was exhausting and isolating. Her daily routine didn't really differ to that of any other mother but it was in the evenings that it felt the hardest. When there was no other adult there to take over the bathtime or bedtime story reading, no other half to digest the day with. It was just her and a babbling baby. She was permanently worried about the future and her ability to earn enough money and she was frustrated at living in her grandparent's pool house and the inability to chase the career she had dreamed of but as far as Rory was concerned she had made her bed and now she had to lie in it.

* * *

Later that evening Lorelai stopped by to see how Rory was, knowing full well that the appearance of Logan would have unsettled her. She bounded into the pool house with arms full of food. "Hello dear daughter, I come bearing gifts of coffee, Chinese food and donuts" she announced triumphantly.

"Good, I am starving," Rory said flopping down onto the sofa.

"So, how are you feeling?" Lorelai asked tentatively.

"I'm fine, should I not be?" Rory asked a little defensively looking at her mom before she sighed. "Okay, well, it was a bit of surprise when you said you'd been talking to Logan. I've felt a bit weirded out about it all afternoon. I mean, the fact that he met Lily today…" she paused and took a long look at her mother's face. "You think I should tell him don't you!"

Lorelai put her hands up "It's up to you Rory, it's your life. And Lily's." she said. While she had never been Logan's biggest fan and had often felt that he wasn't good for Rory, Lorelai had never really approved of Rory keeping this big secret from him. She had however decided that trying to force her personal opinions on Rory was a bad idea - she'd done that in the past and it had resulted in months of them not talking to each other. The last thing she had wanted to do was push her daughter and grandchild away.

Lorelai continued "But what I will say is that one day Lily is going to want to know the truth about where she came from. She'll want to know her father, you can't avoid that and it's not going to be easy for you. Mystery, subterfuge and deceit cause insurmountable damage, Rory, especially when the truth emerges later in life."

"You think I did the wrong thing?" Rory asked.

Lorelai shrugged "We don't need to go over this kid. You know what I think. I am hugely in favor of a kid having their father around. I would never have advised anyone, let alone my own daughter, to opt for single parenthood – motherhood is tough even with two parents on board. I've experienced the single parenting life, for many years – been there, done that and got the worry lines to prove it. It's not a life I would have chosen for you and it didn't have to be this way. It still doesn't."

Rory chewed on the side of her cheek. She'd always known that her mom thought Logan should have been told. "But nothing would have changed. I would have told Logan and would have ended up being on my own either way. This way, there's less disappointment all round."

"You don't know that would have been the case, Rory, he loved you," Lorelai said.

"I can't believe that you are almost fighting his corner. You never liked him!" Rory laughed and shook her head.

"That's not true Rory. Logan had many redeeming qualities. Yes, there were times when I worried about his influence over you but I never once doubted that he loved you. It was obvious for anyone to see but this isn't about that – it's not even specifically about Logan! I just think that all children at least deserve the opportunity to know their father. Lily deserves that."

"Lily doesn't know any different!" Rory said stubbornly.

"Not now, because she's only nine months old but she will and when she's a teenager and asks about her father and why he was never involved – will you be honest and tell her that you never gave him the choice? She'll be hurt, Rory. How will you defend yourself? What are you going to say? What about Logan! How will you face him? He's missed out on so much already. You loved him once, don't you think that he deserves to be treated better and at least given the opportunity to know his daughter?"

"You think I don't know all that?!" Rory yelled.

Lorelai sat back and sighed. She never meant to unleash such a tirade on her daughter but she stood by everything she had said. Just seeing what Luke had gone through discovering he was April's father and the fact that Anna had kept it from him all those years – she couldn't help feeling for Logan.

"I don't know okay." Rory said as tears slipped down her cheeks "I don't have all the answers. Or any of them." she threw her hands up in the air.

"Come here kid," Lorelai said as she pulled her daughter in for a hug. She hated to see her so confused and upset.

"I've messed everything up mom," Rory said as she wiped her tears away. "I know I should have told him, but I couldn't face seeing him again."

Lorelai smiled sympathetically "It might feel like you've messed everything up, but it can be fixed. You've just taken a few wrong turns that's all".

"I don't know how to make it right" Rory shook her head in defeat.

"Talk to him Ror. That's all you can do."

Rory pursed her lips. "Okay, I'll think about it."

"That's all I am asking," Lorelai said kissing the top of her daughter's head. "Now, this Chinese food is going cold, let's eat."

"Hold on. Before we do mom, there's something else I need to talk to you about." Rory grimaced.

"Oh! I do not like that tone – I've heard that before, that tone screams doom. Emily Gilmore is involved isn't she?" Lorelai said crossing her arms.

"How do you know! But yes, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Rory said hiding behind her hands.

"Hit me," Lorelai said resolutely.

"The good news is we're escaping Friday night dinner tomorrow. The bad news we're going to a DAR party instead" Rory said quickly hiding behind a cushion.

"You what! Not possible, I'm washing my hair or babysitting! That's right, I am babysitting! You'll need me to look after Lily while you go…"

"Too late for that excuse, Grandma already asked Marta to sit. C'mon mom, it might be…fun?" Rory pleaded "I promised grandma we'd go and as I helped arrange it…"

Lorelai threw herself back against the sofa and groaned. "You've just been knocked off my number one spot on the list of favorite people Rory Gilmore. There had better be martinis on free flow or you are going to owe me big time!" she said waggling her finger.

After they'd finished eating Lorelai headed back home to Stars Hollow. Rory lay back on the sofa thinking about everything they'd talked about that night. She knew that her mom was right, about everything. Logan was a good person and he deserved to know that he had a daughter. She was going to have to start facing things head on but she just wasn't ready to do it yet. Besides, she thought to herself, she wasn't even sure when she'd seen him again and it wasn't the kind of thing that you just put on an email – especially when you'd had no contact for eighteen months. No, Rory thought, there's no point in rushing this. I'll tell him when the time is right.


	4. Let The Flames Begin

"I can't understand why you are making me go to this stupid party anyhow," Lorelai groaned fiddling with the hem of her dress. "I must have been very bad in a past life!"

"Mom! You know the DAR is important to Grandma and she asked us to come along as I helped her with some of the prep. The least we can do is make a brief appearance."

"It had better be brief" Lorelai warned "A formal dance? Really? No wonder Luke seized the chance to stay in with Lily tonight. I still can't believe that a daughter of mine actually joined the DAR. I expected more from you".

Rory rolled her eyes "C'mon mom, I promise this will be as swift and pain-free as possible."

"Hopefully like my death when I am forced to drown myself in the punch."

* * *

"A DAR party? Really mom? You know it's not really my scene…" Logan groaned as her mother laid out their plans for the evening. Mitchum wasn't really well enough to be going out to parties and Shira was insisting Logan accompany her.

"Oh Logan, don't be silly, just come for a little while. Everyone will be so pleased to see you and hear that you are moving back to Hartford" Shira said straightening her son's tie. "You never know, there might be some nice young ladies there," she said with a smile.

Logan groaned. The last thing he needed or wanted was to be set up on a date with another airhead hand-picked by his mother. "I'll come, but I'm serious mom, no trying to set me up with any of your friend's daughters, I am not interested!"

"Okay, okay, I promise" Shira smiled sweetly at her son. "Now come on, the car is outside waiting".

* * *

Lorelai and Rory stood outside the party. "You owe me for this remember!"

As they walked into the party, Emily greeted them and thrust a martini into their hands.

"Rory I have someone that you must meet!" Emily said gleefully, grabbing her granddaughter by the hand.

"Oh hi mom," Lorelai said sarcastically "Why hello Lorelai, don't you look beautiful tonight," she said faking her mother's voice "Gee thanks, mom, so kind of you to notice…"

Emily scowled at her daughter and rolled her eyes. Ignoring her she leaned to whisper into her granddaughter's ear "His name is Carter Hamilton, he is a Harvard law graduate and he's the son of one of your grandfather's clients. They are a very nice family Rory. He's very nice indeed, I think you'll like him."

"Grandma…" Rory started to protest.

"Oh, Rory! Just meet him!" Emily pleaded.

Rory signalled to her mom for help.

"Don't look at me kid, you got yourself into your own sorry mess" Lorelai chuckled as she walked in the opposite direction.

* * *

"So what did you do after graduating from Yale, Lorelai"

Emily had succeeded at flinging Rory together with Carter and had made her excuses and left them to chat at a table near the edge of the dance floor. Rory was silently cursing her grandmother and her matchmaking obsessions.

"Rory," she said pointedly.

"Sorry?" Carter said.

"Rory. Nobody calls me Lorelai. Ever." She said taking a sip of her martini. Rory immediately felt bad for being so standoffish with Carter. It wasn't his fault, he was actually a really nice guy and she knew she wasn't being particularly pleasant to him but these forced situations always got her back up.

"Okay, Rory" He smiled "After Yale, what did you do?"

Rory debated over which version of the story to give him. Should she just offer the glossy version or the highlights reel? In the end, she decided to go with the honest truth.

"I had a baby." She said twizzling her drinks stirrer around in her glass.

Carter spluttered on his drink.

"Are you okay there?" Rory asked with amused concern.

"Sorry, that wasn't really what I was expecting," he said shaking his head a little.

"No, me neither," Rory said wistfully "But there it is!"

Rory thought announcing she had a baby straight out of college would have been enough to put Carter off and that he'd make his excuses and leave as soon as he could but surprisingly he didn't. Instead, he continued the conversation, asking lots of questions about Rory's life with her daughter. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself enjoying his company, which came as a real surprise to her.

"We've been talking so long, our glasses are empty. Would you like a refill" Carter said standing up.

This was normally the point that Rory would make her excuses and leave but she was actually having a really nice time talking to Carter. "Yes," she smiled "That would be lovely". It was rare finding a man to talk to that didn't bolt as soon as they realised she was a young mother.

Rory spent the next hour listening to Carter talk about his experiences at Harvard. She found it really interesting to hear his stories seeing as she had once been heading there herself. She couldn't help but wonder how different her life might be right now had she followed her childhood dream to attend Harvard instead of choosing Yale.

Carter looked at his watch. "Rory, it's been lovely talking with you tonight. I'm really sorry but I have to leave now as I have to get a train back to New York for an early meeting in the morning, but if it's not too forward or presumptuous of me, I'd really like to take you out sometime?" he asked her hopefully.

Rory was taken a little aback "Oh!" she said. It really wasn't a good time for her to get involved with anyone. She still had all this mess to sort with Logan. Then again, she thought, she had no idea when that would come to a head and perhaps going on a date would take her mind off her problems. It couldn't hurt to have a little fun. "Sure Carter. Let me give you my number." she smiled.

* * *

"Getting on well there" Lorelai winked and nudged her daughter after she'd said goodbye to her new friend.

"Yeah! For one of grandma's picks, he's actually okay" Rory said, slightly surprised.

"Really?!" Lorelai exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes! We're going to go out on a date actually." Rory smiled.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows "Wow." She was somewhat surprised at this turn of events. Rory had resisted dating anyone since Lily had arrived so she couldn't help but wonder why she'd decided to suddenly give this guy a chance. Before she had time to ask she spotted something or someone that made her wince.

"Uh-oh," Lorelai said before taking a big swig of her martini.

"What uh-oh? What have you done?" Rory asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I love how you presume that I have done something" Lorelai pouted.

"Mom, if my 24 years on this planet have taught me anything, it is that an uh-oh uttered from your lips is not normally followed by anything good". Rory laughed.

"Well, I guess it all depends on how you feel about a Huntzberger being in the same room as you right now," Lorelai said watching her daughter's reaction.

"What?" Rory said with wide eyes.

"Logan Huntzberger at 6 o'clock" Lorelai said quietly.

Rory spun around on the spot just in time for Logan to look up from his drink and straight into her eyes. Her stomach flipped.

"Shit.' She said turning back quickly to her mom "Shit, shit, shit."

"Got any other words there my oh-so-intelligent Yale grad?" Lorelai said sarcastically.

"Godammit!" Rory said clenching her fists.

Lorelai wrinkled her nose "Not really the word I was looking for but still a good choice given the circumstances."

Rory closed her eyes. She was in no way ready for this.

"Do you think it would be considered bad form to run?" Rory asked.

"In those heels?" Lorelai joked "I'm not sure what the etiquette is on running away from your ex, but I'd make your mind up quickly as he's coming over" she wrinkled her nose.

* * *

Logan had spotted her immediately. He had seen her talking closely with a dark haired man. She looked like she was having fun, though it didn't seem like she knew him well as he could from her body language that she wasn't entirely comfortable.

Rory looked incredible in her fitted black cocktail dress and strappy sandals, her long hair cascading in curls down her back. It was the first time he had laid eyes on her since her graduation and he was glad to see that she hadn't cut her hair, he'd always loved it long.

He debated whether he should pretend that he hadn't seen her. A DAR event really wasn't the place he wanted to have an awkward first meeting but as soon as he watched her walk back over to Lorelai and she had turned around to look at him, he knew that he would have to go talk to her. It was going to take all his strength but he would act with bravado.

XXX

"Well, of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," Logan said.

"Logan" Rory smiled tentatively.

"Rory, good to see you" he smiled back. "Lorelai didn't think I'd be bumping into you again quite so soon."

"Ha, no me neither." She said downing her drink "Oh! Look at that, my glass is empty. I'm just going to…." She gestured towards the bar and started to walk away.

"Real subtle mom" Rory hissed as she passed her.

Logan laughed.

They stood awkwardly for a moment, neither of them really knowing what to say to each other or how to start a conversation.

"So…" Logan said as he brushed his hand through his hair "Do you want to dance?" He cursed himself as the words came out of his mouth, he didn't really know why he asked her that. They had barely even spoken to each other yet here he was asking her to dance. Anything to avoid the awkward silence that was occurring.

Rory looked at him in surprise. "Oh…I don't…know. Wouldn't that be a bit…awkward?"

"More awkward than this!?" Logan joked.

"I guess not" she laughed and relaxed a little. Rory figured one dance wouldn't hurt and would certainly help break the ice a little. She had no idea what to say to Logan and was scared in case she just blurted out everything that was in her head.

"Well, let's go then, Rory!" Logan said taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. Rory tensed at his touch. She inwardly groaned as predictably the song had changed to a slow one. He put his arms around her waist and she hesitantly put her arms around his neck.

"So, how have you been?" he asked her.

"I've been good" Rory smiled. It wasn't the whole truth, but strictly speaking, it wasn't a lie either.

"Life is treating you well?"

"Life is…hard". This time it was the absolute truth.

"No one said it was meant to be easy" Logan laughed.

Rory smiled. "What are you doing back in Hartford anyhow? Don't tell me you're fed up of all that fabulous California sunshine?"

"Something like that…" he smiled.

"Really?"

"No, not really. California has been great but I'm moving back here. My dad hasn't been so well so I've sold my stake in the company I was working with in Palo Alto to take over from my dad at HPG."

"Wow".

"Yeah, big change, but I'm looking forward to being back in Connecticut again." Logan paused "I've missed….it."

Rory tried to inwardly process what Logan was saying without looking too alarmed. He was moving back to Hartford permanently. Which meant they'd both be living in the same place, going about their daily lives alongside each other. Alongside Lily.

"It would be nice to catch up sometime…properly I mean, over dinner or something" Logan continued, his heart beating hard in his chest. He'd wanted to forget all about Rory for so long but here she was, in front of him and he knew he wanted to find a way of reconnecting with her.

"Oh! I erm, I don't know if that's a good idea…" Rory started to shake her head.

"Why not? Are you seeing someone?" Logan asked.

"No, that's not what…" Rory paused when Logan interrupted her.

"Don't panic Rory, I just mean as friends, that's all." he shrugged.

"Friends," Rory said resolutely "Yeah, why not" she smiled, as they continued to slow dance to the song the band were playing.

* * *

When the song finished playing, Rory made her excuses and headed off the dance floor to find her mom. Logan walked over to where Shira was standing with her friends.

"Was that Rory Gilmore?" she asked her son.

"Yeah," Logan said sipping his scotch.

"I didn't know you two were still in touch?"

"We're not" Logan shook his head "Or we weren't anyhow"

"I always wondered what happened to Rory after she ended your relationship…"

Logan cringed at hearing his mother say those words. It wasn't strictly true. Yes, Rory had told him she couldn't marry him but he was the one who had decided it had to be all or nothing. He listened to his mother continue.

"….We didn't see her around for quite a while. I guess she went off to chase that career she wanted. She completely disappeared from the scene. Emily never said anything but I heard that she helped to plan this little event so she must be back here for a while" Shira said conspiringly.

Logan watched Rory across the room as she collected her coat with Lorelai. He had so much he wanted to know about her life over the past 18 months - he wondered about her constantly. He resolved to call her first thing in the morning and make the first steps towards getting to know Rory Gilmore again.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for all the lovely feedback so far, I am so pleased you are enjoying my new story. It's just flowing out of me at the moment! Always happy to receive your thoughts and comments x**


	5. Rewind

Rory had been surprised when Logan had called the very next day to arrange to meet up. She was pretty nervous about being alone with him and his suggestion of dinner had felt a little too intimate so she made her excuses and they settled on meeting for a coffee instead. Now she was waiting for him in a coffee shop in Hartford, wondering what on earth she was doing there. Every time the door opened she felt her heart stop. She had considered bolting several times and just as she was thinking about it again, in he walked.

Logan knew that he needed to see Rory again and soon. He had thought about her all night. He didn't really know what he expected from them meeting up and he certainly wasn't planning to go down the route of pursuing dating again, not yet anyhow. He just felt the need to connect with her and find out what had been happening in her life. Even when they had been in love, above everything else, they had always been friends and he had truly missed having her in his life. He smiled when he saw her waiting at the table for him and walked over.

"Hey, Logan" Rory looked up and smiled at him nervously. "I already got you a coffee," she said as she pushed the cup towards him.

"Thanks! Do you want anything else…anything to eat?" he asked her.

"No, I am fine, coffee is good," she said taking a sip. "So, I was kind of surprised to hear from you so soon".

"Am I too keen?" he smirked as he sat down at the table. "I hadn't intended to meet up so soon either" he admitted, "but I am going to be heading to New York for a few days with my dad soon and I thought it would be nice to catch up before I went away."

"Right" Rory smiled "So, how is your dad? You mentioned yesterday he was sick?"

Logan smiled at Rory. Mitchum and Rory had a somewhat strained relationship but whatever had happened between them, there still remained a kind of mutual respect. "He got diagnosed with a heart condition which resulted in him having to have an emergency triple bypass a couple of weeks ago"

"Oh my god, I'm sorry Logan, is he okay?"

"He's recovering nicely and it sounds like he's going to make a decent return to full health," Logan said "You know Mitchum, can't keep him down…but it's provoked a bit of a change in him. He kind of took it as a warning sign to slow down and he's made the decision to take a bit of a step back from HPG which…"

"Which is where you come in?" Rory finished his sentence for him.

"Exactly"

"And you're okay with that?" Rory asked quizzically "You never wanted that Logan."

Logan shrugged casually. "I never wanted it because I felt like it was being forced on me like I had no choice or say in the matter. I feel a bit different now, I mean, I've grown up a bit over the past few years, I hope" he laughed "and my dad wants to hand over to someone he can trust, which for him, means family. My grandfather worked so hard to build up that company you know, I don't want to see it fall because I was too stubborn."

Rory nodded her head "Well, I guess if you're happy…that's all that matters. It's a great opportunity, most people would kill to work for a company like HPG, it's not like you'll be slumming it" she joked. "So this means a move back to Hartford?"

"Yes! Absolutely. I've already started to look for a place, I was at the realtor's offices yesterday when I bumped into Lorelai and her daughter".

Rory tensed "Right, she mentioned that she had seen you," she said desperately wanting to move the conversation away from where it was heading. "Hartford will be quite a change from Palo Alto I am sure. Tell me about" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"Palo Alto? Well, you're right; it's nothing like Hartford. Despite Stanford being nearby, it's never really developed into being a college town like New Haven – I mean it's too expensive for starters but the campus is also quite far out. Did you know Colin is at grad school there at the moment?"

Rory shook her head. She'd not heard anything about the old Yale gang as she'd worked hard to distance herself from everyone.

"Yeah, it's been nice to have him nearby. There are a lot of tech businesses based there, lots of start-ups so there are heaps of incredibly smart and creative people around who are setting out to change the world! I think you'd really like it".

"Sounds like a great place" Rory smiled.

"Well it has it's cons, I am mean driving there completely sucks but the weather is amazing – year round trips to the beach, long summers, hiking in the foothills – you can spend a lot of time out in the great outdoors."

"Never really imagined you as a hiker Huntzberger" Rory laughed.

"People change" he smiled. "So, what about you? What has the great Rory Gilmore been doing with herself since Yale?"

Rory took a deep breath. Where to start? There really wasn't a lot to her story if you removed the whole baby thing and as much as she knew Logan needed to know about Lily, she wasn't ready to spring it on him quite yet.

"It's been….an odd eighteen months really" Rory started slowly. "I was offered a job straight after graduation which I was keen to take but it didn't really work for me…so I spent the best part of a year trying to work out what it was I wanted to do…"

"I thought you'd follow your dream of being an overseas correspondent" Logan interrupted.

"I thought about it" Rory smiled "but well there were just a few things going on at home that meant it wasn't the right time. Anyhow, I spent some time doing some writing, a few freelance jobs but late last year I made the decision to return to study."

"Grad school?" Logan asked

Rory nodded "I've joined the Political Science PhD program at Yale.

"Wow, so before we know it we'll be calling your Dr Gilmore?"

"That's the plan, but it's pretty intense as I've started midway through the year. Grandpa had to pull a few strings. It's not what you know…" she said tapping the side of her nose.

"I'm impressed Ace!" Logan said. He froze suddenly as he took a sip of his coffee. He hadn't meant to use the old familiar nickname it had just slipped out. He noticed Rory tense up.

"So, Colin's at Stanford?" Rory said changing the subject. "I thought he would have stayed around here, you know seeing as the plan was for him to join the family business"

"Yeah, he did a year in his father's law firm first. I must admit I thought he'd stay at Yale for grad school too but I think he must have been swung by the California lifestyle on one of his many visits. I've not really been able to keep Colin and Finn away."

"Ah, the lovely Finn" Rory laughed "What is he up to these days? Still chasing redheads?"

"And anything else that moves" Logan laughed "Finn is still Finn. He's allegedly working in the entertainment industry but apart from flaunting his status to get us VIP entrance into the best clubs and restaurants, we've not seen much actual evidence of this work…"

"I wouldn't have thought that you needed anyone else when you've got your own status to flaunt? The Huntzberger name carries far and wide…" Rory joked.

"Well, it has its perks at times. I'll definitely be exploiting them now I am back on the East coast. HPG is much more of a big deal over here."

"What is your official role at HPG anyhow?" Rory asked with interest.

"You're looking at the newest CEO of the Huntzberger Publishing Group".

Rory's eyes widened "Wow Logan, so when you said your dad was stepping back you meant really stepping back."

"He's still involved but yes, he wants to do less. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware of who will still be pulling all the strings" Logan rolled his eyes.

"But even so, a CEO of a major company by the age of 27, that's impressive," Rory said.

"Less impressive when it's handed to you on a plate…"

Rory sighed "Don't be so modest Logan, Mitchum wouldn't offer it to you if he didn't think you deserved it. I bet it was a big deal for him to ask you to come back – and an even bigger deal for you to accept."

She had read as much as she could find on the internet about Logan's career, which was enough to know that he'd made a major success of the start-up he'd been involved with. She couldn't help but think he was making a huge sacrifice to come back to Hartford for his father.

"It took a bit of thinking about but it's the right thing to do." Logan said resolutely "plus Honor is over the moon that I am back here".

Rory smiled, she'd always liked Logan's sister. "How is Honor?"

"She's great! She's living the life of the perfect society wife in her gilded cage in Hartford, just as life intended" Logan said sarcastically "She and Josh have a little girl now, Fifi." He said pulling out his cell phone to show Rory a picture of him proudly holding a little blonde haired baby.

Rory was startled to see the similarity of Honor's little girl and her own. "Wow," she said as her voice cracked slightly "She's lovely. How old is she?"

"She's eleven months old and a total heartbreaker already. I love her to pieces. My parents just go absolutely crazy for her; I think it was one of the reasons my dad decided to step back. He was working so much that he missed out on a lot when we were growing up and I think he doesn't want that to happen with his grandchildren."

"Sure, I can understand that," Rory said. "Can you excuse me for a moment, I just need to use the bathroom."

"Yeah, no worries. Are you okay Rory? You look a bit pale?"

"I'm fine. I'll be right back" she said as she rushed off.

Rory went to the bathroom. She stood and gripped the edge of the sink. She had felt sure she was going to vomit but now she was there and alone again, she felt a bit calmer. She splashed her face with cold water and took a moment to compose herself. "C'mon Rory, pull yourself together," she said to her reflection before walking back outside where Logan was waiting.

"Better?" Logan smiled

"Yes," Rory exhaled slowly "I just felt a bit shaky there for a moment. Too much caffeine probably" she joked. She looked at the time. "I should really be going now Logan, I've got a class later today so I need to get to New Haven…"

"Of course," he said standing up "I always knew not to get between you and your studying" he winked at her. "It's been good to be able to have this chat," he said as he walked her towards the door. "Perhaps we can do it again soon?"

"I'd like that" Rory smiled as they said goodbye to each other. She waved as he crossed the street and she watched him disappear out of sight.

What on earth was she doing? Why did she tell him that she liked to meet him again? They couldn't be friends. This was only going to make it harder for her to tell him the truth. It had been almost easier to imagine breaking the news about Lily when there had been some distance between them but she'd really enjoyed talking with him today and now their coffee date was over, she already felt like she missed him. Rory pulled her cell phone out of her bag. She was just about to dial her mom when she saw she had a message flashing on the screen, without looking who it was from she opened it.

"Thanks for the coffee, look forward to doing it again. L x"


	6. Hate To See Your Heart Break

Rory sat on the bench in the park cuddling up to her extra large coffee. It was a bitingly cold day but she had been cooped up inside for the past two days studying and she thought that it would do both her and Lily some good to get out and have a breath of fresh air. It had been exactly a week since she had met with Logan. She had replayed their conversations in her head over and over again. Had she missed the perfect opportunity to tell him?

Lily started to grizzle in the stroller next to her. Rory looked at her watch. "What is it, Lily? Is it your time for a snack too?" she said unclipping her daughter and picking her up out of the stroller. She sat her on her lap and reached into her bag for the milk that she had packed in there earlier. As Lily hungrily devoured her bottle of milk, Rory started rethinking things over again. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that someone was approaching her.

"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Rory's head snapped up in panic when she recognised the voice. "Logan! I didn't expect to see you here."

"I can tell! Didn't mean to scare you there Rory!" he smiled.

"Oh! Honor. Wow. It's great to see you" Rory smiled at Logan's sister "I'd get up but…" she gestured at the small person attached to her.

"Ha don't worry, I know all about it" Honor laughed, pointing at the little girl in the stroller that she was pushing. "Look, Rory, I don't mean to be rude but I've really got to rush as I am meant to be meeting Josh and I am already late, but I'd love to catch up with you sometime, we'll do lunch yes?"

"Lunch would be great Honor" Rory smiled.

"Fab, I'll call you. Logan, are you staying?" Honor asked. Logan nodded and said his goodbyes to his sister and niece before turning his attentions back to Rory.

"Lily, we really need to stop meeting like this" Logan said as he reached into tickle her chin and was rewarded for his actions with a dazzling smile from the little girl. "Lorelai roped you in for babysitting duties, one of the perks of having a grown up daughter to help out I guess" Logan laughed.

Here goes nothing, Rory thought as she shook her head. "Logan…" she paused slightly before continuing. "I need to tell you something. This is a little hard to explain. Lily…she's not my sister…she's my daughter."

"She's yours?" Logan sat down next to Rory on the bench, looking confused and ever so slightly shell-shocked. "I thought when I saw Lorelai last week…I mean she never said…"

"No" Rory smiled sadly "She wouldn't have" she shook her head.

"So, she's your daughter, wow," Logan said looking at Rory holding on to Lily, trying to take it all in. He had, of course, noticed the trademark Gilmore blue eyes last week but he had figured that she had got them from Lorelai, but now he could see that they were a perfect match with Rory's own sparkling blue eyes.

"And she's yours too" Rory added quietly as she looked down at the floor.

"What?" Logan said questioningly.

"Lily is your daughter," Rory said as tears started to fall down her face.

"WHAT?!" Logan repeated and jumped up from where he was sitting.

"I'm so sorry Logan, please don't be angry with me" Rory pleaded with him as she carefully clipped Lily back into the stroller.

"Don't be angry with you?! Why didn't you tell me? You had a baby? MY baby, and you never even told me you were pregnant!" Logan said slowly as he started to move away from Rory.

Rory grabbed his arm to stop him "I wanted to tell you about it, but I was hurt and confused and…." She stopped when Logan shook her off.

"That's bullshit, Rory. You know it. That's a bullshit excuse. I can't believe this is happening." Logan said rubbing his head with his hands. "I can't believe that you kept this from me all this time. Were you ever going to tell me?" he asked her.

"Yes, I…of course I was. When I had the right opportunity but…" Rory sobbed.

"Last week," Logan said resolutely.

"What?" Rory looked at him with confusion.

"Last week when we met for coffee. When we were alone and you told me all about your life since graduation, that was the perfect opportunity. You never even mentioned that you'd had a baby – that's no small insignificant detail, Rory. You just airbrushed over a major part of your life like it was nothing."

"I didn't know how to tell you. It's been this huge secret for so long; I didn't want you to be mad at me. I don't know why I didn't say anything, I should have said something but I was scared of how you would react."

"Somebody finds out that they have a child they never knew existed – how do you think they're going to react Rory? I just can't believe this, from you of all people. I never ever expected that you would do something like this to me."

"I never meant to hurt you, Logan," Rory said quietly.

"But you still did a great job of it anyhow huh," Logan said with venom in his voice. "I'm leaving." He said first looking at Rory and then down at Lily sitting in her stroller.

"Logan stop, we need to talk about this"

"I don't know what to say to you Rory" Logan shouted throwing his hands up in the air.

"Logan please stay" she begged him but she knew it was pointless.

"I can't." He shook his head as he turned away.

And for the second time in her life, Rory once again had to watch a heart-broken and dejected Logan walk away from her.

* * *

Rory felt emotionally drained as she dropped Lily back home to the au pair Marta. There was only one place she wanted to be. She got in her car and drove the short distance to Stars Hollow, sobbing all the way.

Lorelai heard a car pull onto the driveway. She pulled back the nets to see that it was Rory's car. Somewhat surprised as she hadn't expected to see her today, she went to the door and walked out onto the porch to greet her. When she saw Rory step out of the car, Lorelai felt her heart break.

"Rory, what has happened!" she said as she rushed over to her daughter, who was crying so hard she could barely speak. "What's the matter, is it Lily?" she asked concerned.

Rory shook her head and buried her face in her mom's shoulder.

"Oh! He knows!" Lorelai gasped. She hugged her daughter tighter and rubbed her hair gently. "It will be okay Rory" she soothed "It will all be okay," she said as she walked her into the house.

Lorelai settled Rory on the sofa with a big mug of coffee and a warm blanket. It had been a long time since she had seen her so upset. "Do you want to talk about it Ror?" she asked gently.

"What's to talk about? Logan knows about Lily now and he hates me." Rory said sadly.

"C'mon, he doesn't hate you."

"You didn't see him mom" Rory shook her head.

"He doesn't hate you. He's just processing. It's a huge shock for him." Lorelai said. "What actually happened, sweetie?"

Rory explained how she'd been out with Lily when she bumped into Logan in the park and he'd talked about her being Lorelai's daughter.

"I just couldn't let him continue to think that, you know. It was going to get too messy. I mean, it's messy enough as it is."

Lorelai nodded. "You did the right thing, hun."

"Are you sure about that, because it doesn't feel too good right now?" Rory said sadly.

"He needed to know Ror. However and whenever he found out, he was likely to have the same reaction." Lorelai said as she rubbed her daughter's arm sympathetically.

"But what do I do now?" Rory looked at her mom.

"Just give him some time kid".

* * *

Later that evening, while Lorelai was out walking Paul Anka, Rory toyed with her cell phone. She dialled Logan's number nervously. She wasn't sure what she would say to him but she needed to make sure he was okay. It rang twice before switching to his voicemail. Rory knew that Logan had diverted the call. She sighed and tapped out a message instead.

 _"_ _Please call me Logan"_

She waited a few moments but there was no response so she tapped out another message and again pressed send.

* * *

Logan didn't know how long he had been driving for or even here he was going, all he knew was that he had to get away and clear his head.

The realization that he had a child had hit him like a steam train and with Rory Gilmore no less. She was the absolute love of his life; the one that had got away, the one that had told him that she couldn't marry him because she wanted to keep her options wide open. He'd always thought that one day Rory would be the mother of his children, he could never have imagined going through the experience with anyone else but that was before they had broken up and it wasn't meant to happen like this.

He couldn't wrap his head around why she had kept such a big thing from him. Did she hate him that much? They had loved each other, hadn't they? Whatever had happened between them in the past, Rory should have known that he would have been at her side in an instant.

Logan was so angry about the situation he could barely see straight. He pulled his car over to the side of the road and dropped his head onto the steering wheel. He had no idea what he was going to do or how he should be dealing with a situation like this. What does someone do when they suddenly find out they have a nine-month-old daughter with the girl who completely broke his heart.

The sound of his cell phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. He picked it up and looked to see who was calling. Rory. He pressed the red button to reject the call and within seconds, it beeped with a message.

"Please call me Logan"

Logan frowned at the message. He was in no way ready to talk to Rory right now. He knew if he did he would end up saying something that he would regret. He needed time to simmer. Within a minute another message came through.

"Logan, I am worried about you. Just let me know that you are okay."

Logan sighed. Despite being more angry with Rory than he'd ever been with anyone in his life, he didn't want her to be worried. He certainly wasn't prepared to talk to her but he'd let her know that she needn't worry about him.

 _"_ _I'm okay."_

Rory immediately replied.

 _"_ _Can we talk?"_

* * *

Rory held her cell phone in her hand awaiting his response. She didn't have to wait too long before her phone beeped back into life.

 _"_ _I don't think that's a good idea"_

She sighed and dropped her the phone onto the couch. Having never had to break the news to someone that they had unwittingly become a father, Rory didn't really know how she should have expected Logan to react, but she hadn't banked on his sudden gush of fury and vitriol.

She just hoped that given time, he would calm down and listen to her.


	7. Misery Business

The next day Rory awoke on the sofa in Lorelai's living room where she had fallen asleep late the night before. She had managed to drift off in the early hours and exhausted, she slept right through to lunchtime. She woke a little disorientated and immediately looked at her cell phone, just in case Logan had called her, but she was disappointed to find that he hadn't.

Lorelai looked at her sadly "He'll call when he's ready Ror".

"What if he doesn't?" Rory chewed her cheek.

"Well, if he doesn't, then what have you really lost? You hadn't seen him in eighteen months, you didn't want to tell him about Lily and you were already doing this on your own anyway." Lorelai said matter-of-factly.

Rory remained silent. She knew that her mom was speaking the harsh truth but seeing Logan had changed things for her. He knew about Lily now. She had no expectations of any kind of relationship for the pair of them but she had hoped that he would at least want to get to know his child now he knew the truth.

* * *

Logan sat in a booth at their old favourite haunt from their Yale days, Rich Man's Shoe in New Haven. He'd needed to talk things through with his friends and while Colin was still in California at Stanford, Finn happened to be in the area visiting family and had suggested it as an easy meeting place for 'old times sake'.

Finn entered the bar and scanned around for Logan. "Mate!" he shouted across the room when he saw Logan sitting at a table, nursing an empty glass. Logan hadn't told Finn why he needed to speak to him but he had guessed from the tone of his voice that it was something pretty serious. Logan looked up as Finn took a seat at the table.

"Mate, you look like shit, no offence," Finn said holding up his hands.

"I feel like shit," Logan said. "No offence taken."

"So, what's going on Logan, my man. You look like your cat just ate your budgie."

"I saw Rory last week" Logan looked down at his empty glass, and swirled the remaining ice around in the bottom of it.

Finn sat back in the booth and placed his hands behind his head. He might have guessed that Logan's dishevelled appearance had something to do with Rory, it normally did. He was surprised to even hear him mention her name.

"Okay…and it didn't go well?"

"Oh, no it went very well. We got on fine, really well in fact. We danced together at a party, met for coffee and reminisced a little while and then I bumped into her at the park yesterday which is where she introduced me to my daughter." He said slamming the glass down on the table.

"Excuse me? You are what now?!" Finn said with his mouth gaping wide.

"I have a daughter. With Rory." Logan said laughing. He didn't know why he was laughing about it but it had sounded so strange when he said it out loud for the first time.

"I think I need a drink mate!" Finn said as he beckoned the waitress over.

Once Finn had a drink in his hand and Logan's glass had been refilled, Finn signalled for Logan to continue.

"I don't know what to say, buddy. I mean, how, why, when…"

"All very valid questions my friend and ones I have no answers to," Logan said as he knocked back his scotch.

"But when did you see Rory? I mean, in order to knock her up…again, no offence…" Finn said as he took a swig of his drink.

"By my calculations, she would have been pregnant at her graduation, though she may not have known then, I don't really know."

"But that was….ages ago?!" Finn said as the thought back to the day when Rory had turned down Logan's proposal. Surely if she had known she was pregnant then, she would have said something.

"Lily is nine months old. That's her name, Lily. I have a daughter called Lily who is nine months old and I don't know anything else about her." Logan said running his hands through his hair.

"She waited all this time to tell you?"

Logan shook his head "I don't think she waited - I don't think she ever intended to tell me. She only blurted it out yesterday because I had presumed the baby she was with was her sister."

"Ouch." Finn said "Sorry, mate. I'm stunned. I can't believe that Rory would have your baby and not tell you about it."

"Welcome to my world," Logan said sarcastically.

"So what are you going to do? I mean, how did you leave things?"

"Badly. I got really mad at her and I left. I've not spoken to her since"

Finn pulled a face. "Well I can't say I blame you, but you're going to have to talk to her sometime. I mean, I don't want to be the one to point this out to you, but you have a child together…"

Logan couldn't help but laugh at his friend. "I know. I know."

"You want to be involved with this baby though don't you?"

Logan slowly nodded. "Yes, I think so but I'm not ready to talk to Rory about any of it yet, I am just so angry and eaten up inside about it all. If I talk to her now…" he said shaking his head "I just don't think it will end well."

"Understood," Finn said nodding his head. "So what is she like?"

"Lily? She's beautiful" he smiled. "She has blonde curls and Rory's blue eyes. I don't have a photo" he shrugged. "or I'd show you."

"Relax mate, you've only been a dad for 24 hours, you'll catch on. Another drink?"

* * *

Lorelai walked into the bar and looked around. She had worked pretty hard to try and track him down today, having to resort to hijacking Rory's phone to find out his sister's number. Lorelai had called Honor who had luckily spoken to Logan that day so she knew exactly where he was headed to. She had no idea what was going on or why Lorelai would want to find Logan but she could tell that it was important.

Rory had to head back to Hartford to get back to Lily. She had never intended to leave her overnight so needed to relieve Marta from her duties. Lorelai had seized this opportunity to sneak off and do what her daughter would call meddling. Emily Gilmore would be so proud!

As she scanned the bar area, she spotted Logan sitting on a table in the corner with a young man she recognized to be his friend from Yale, Finn. She took a deep breath and strode over to the table. The two men looked up at Lorelai as she approached.

"Logan, can I talk to you?"

"Lorelai, I…." Logan started to make an excuse of why he couldn't possibly talk to her at that moment.

"It's really important Logan" she interjected.

"Mate, c'mon" Finn nudged his friend.

Logan sighed and gestured for her to sit down at the table.

"I'll just go and sit at the bar…" Finn said to them both. Lorelai smiled at him to say thank you.

Logan looked at Lorelai and waited for her to start talking.

"Look, Logan. I know that you must be reeling right now…"

Logan laughed at Lorelai's words. Reeling was an understatement. He rubbed his hand on his face.

"….but I really think you need to understand why Rory did what she did, or at least my understanding anyhow."

Logan sighed "I don't think I'll ever understand what would drive someone to lie to another person about them being a father."

"You could at least try," Lorelai said gently "And to be fair, she didn't really lie."

Logan looked at Lorelai incredulously "What? I can't believe you are saying that!"

"She didn't lie" Lorelai shrugged and shook her head.

"She never exactly told the truth though did she," Logan said taking a swig of his drink "and neither did you. You let me believe that Lily was yours."

Lorelai shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hated being stuck in the middle. "Will you at least listen to me, Logan?"

Logan gestured for her to go ahead.

"Rory found out she was pregnant just a few weeks after graduation. Neither of you had made any effort to contact each other and by this point, you'd already left for Palo Alto. She was an absolute mess Logan – to be honest, she was a mess before she found out she was pregnant, the breakup was really hard on her." Lorelai stopped talking as Logan went to interrupt her. "I know, I know, it was hard for you too."

"She found it hard to reconcile herself with the situation, that you were no longer together and then she got this great job offer from Hugo and she'd just started to pick herself up and start envisioning a future for herself. She was just preparing to leave on the Obama campaign trail when she found out."

"That was the job she was offered? Wow, that was a pretty amazing opportunity….but wait she didn't go did she?" Logan asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, she didn't feel like she could leave right away when there were all these decisions to be made. She told Hugo she had some personal issues to get her head around and he gave her some time…"

Logan looked at Lorelai quizzically. "Decisions to be made? You mean?"

"I'm not going to lie to you Logan you deserve to know all the honest facts. Yes, Rory considered that terminating the pregnancy was an option that was open to her."

Logan winced.

"But it honestly wasn't a consideration for very long, we both knew that she would never have gone through with it so she told Hugo that she wouldn't be taking the job".

"She really wanted to tell you, she agonized over it, but she felt like the reasons you had split up remained the same – she wasn't ready to get married and you weren't willing to do the long distance thing so…I'm not judging you, Logan, the long distance thing is hard, it's not for everyone."

"Ultimately based on that, whether that was misguided or not Rory decided she didn't want her child to have a part-time dad like she did. Hell, Christopher was less than part-time! He was never there when she needed him to be, he let her down constantly. She decided it was easier for everyone to do it alone but that wasn't an easy choice for her to make. I have watched her wrestle with it constantly and it has taken a huge emotional toll on her. Lily is her world, we all adore her, you've seen her – how can we not, but there have been a lot of sacrifices made."

Logan looked up at Lorelai. "So, she stayed with you, in Stars Hollow?"

"At first, yes, but she lives with my parents now in Hartford. Back in the pool house" Lorelai rolled her eyes. It reminded her of the bad times when Rory had dropped out of Yale and they weren't on speaking terms for months on end. "It seemed like the best solution. It gives Rory and Lily a bit more space and privacy and my mother loves having them there – makes up for my complete failure as a daughter when I left home with Rory."

"She can't stay there forever though," Logan said.

"No. And her dad offered to help buy her a condo but you know Rory, she has grand plans and Lily will be a year old in a few months…."

She looked at Logan when she realised Logan didn't even know when her birthday was. "14th February, Valentines Day" Lorelai smiled.

Logan couldn't help but think back to last Valentines Day. What had he been doing while Rory was giving birth to his child? Feeling sorry for himself and wallowing no doubt. He knew for sure he hadn't been on a date as he had decided to boycott the whole holiday being as it was his first one without Rory. He'd thought about sending Rory a message so many times that day, now with hindsight he really wished he had. Would things have been different between them?

"Anyhow, for now, she's staying with my parents while she attends grad school. Did you know she was back at Yale?"

"Yes," he nodded "She mentioned that."

"Yes, well my mother has employed an au pair for Lily which she happily overseas." Lorelai rolled her eyes "You know my mother, but in fairness, Marta has been a great help to Rory, it's given her the chance to get on with her studies and keep a bit of her freedom. It's hard work being a single mom I can tell you that from experience."

"Emily and Richard, do they know…"

"That Lily is yours? No, well not outright but I guess they have their suspicions. Rory refused to discuss it. Logan, I know that you are hurting and angry right now, and you have every right to be but you can't avoid Rory forever, you need to talk about this."

"I don't know Lorelai…." he shook his head. Logan couldn't see where talking would get them, other than round and round in ever-decreasing circles.

"What! You're just going to pretend that none of this happened? That Lily doesn't exist?" Lorelai looked at Logan who shook his head again. "I didn't think so."

"I just need some space okay. I need time to work out what all this means and if I see Rory now, we're just going to end up in a big fight. I don't think either of us needs that drama in our lives."

"But you're not going to bolt, right?" Lorelai cocked her head to one side and looked at him.

"No, I'm not going to bolt," Logan said before taking a swig of his scotch and putting the glass down and looking at Lorelai. "Why did you come here?"

"Because she's my daughter and she's in pain. She's made mistakes, she's not perfect, but I love her and I will always try to help her when I can. One day you're going to feel this way about your own daughter Logan, just wait and see"


	8. For a Pessimist I am Pretty Optimistic

A few days had passed since Logan had seen Lorelai at the bar and he'd spent some time digesting the things she had told him. He'd had the chance to calm down a bit and even spent some time talking through things with Honor, which had helped. Honor had been utterly stunned but she urged Logan to talk to Rory and tried to make him understand that there was more at stake than he might realise. Whatever he thought about Rory if he ever wanted to have a relationship with his daughter he was going to have to be the bigger person.

It was the last thing he felt like doing but Logan took a deep breath and picked up the phone to call Rory.

"Logan?"

"Hey. I, erm, I'm just calling because I guess we should probably talk." Logan's tone was cold.

"Sure. Just name the time and place and I'll be there" Rory said.

"Okay. If you're free, how about meeting this afternoon, the same coffee shop we met at before in Hartford? I'll be there at 3 pm."

"Okay, that's good for me" Rory said quietly "Erm, Logan…" she trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want me to bring Lily with me?" she asked gently.

Logan closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "No.," he said quickly. "I'll see you later" and he ended the call.

* * *

Logan was already waiting inside the coffee shop when Rory arrived. It had taken her a few minutes to gather herself enough to actually open the door and walk in. Her insides were in pieces and she felt sure that she would throw up at any moment. Rory inhaled deeply, slapped on a smile and walked up to Logan's table.

"Hey," she said as she stood at the table.

Logan looked up at her with an almost-smile which Rory noticed didn't reach his eyes.

"Can I…." she gestured towards the chair opposite him.

"Be my guest. Here's your coffee" he said pushing the cup towards her.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. "I'm really glad you called."

Logan shrugged. "I wasn't going to…"

"So what changed your mind?" Rory said quietly.

"Honor. And your mom".

"My mom?!" Rory looked at him confused.

"She didn't tell you?" Logan said looking at Rory with surprise as she shook her head. "She came to see me."

"Oh, right" Rory looked at Logan wondering if she really wanted to know what had been said between himself and Lorelai. She decided that she was probably better off not knowing. She wasn't impressed that Lorelai had gone behind her back but she knew that her mom meant well. They spent the next several minutes in complete silence until Rory could take no more.

"Logan, we came here to talk so…I want you to give me the chance to explain."

"I'm not interested in hearing your excuses Rory because I honestly don't know what excuse you could possibly have that would make any of this seem okay."

Rory sighed "Then why are we here?"

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't really know what you're meant to do in this situation. I can't pretend everything is okay right now because it's not. I'm still really angry about it all." Logan said without looking at Rory. She reached over to touch his hand and he recoiled, pulling it away from her quickly.

Rory looked at Logan sadly. She knew him better than anyone and she could see how much he was hurting right now. She wanted to fix it for him but she also knew that she was the root cause of the problem.

"We can work this all out together Logan."

Logan looked at Rory. "I'm not so sure if that's possible"

"But we're friends, right? You wanted to be friends."

"That was before…" Logan paused "I can barely bring myself to talk to you right now Rory. The friend's thing? I think we're a long way off that don't you?" Logan looked at Rory and could see that she had tears forming in her eyes. He felt bad that he was making her cry. He sighed. "but I'm hopeful that with time that might change."

Rory looked up at him. "You do?"

"I need to believe that we can get to a good place." Logan nodded. "I just need some time to adjust to this, okay. I want to be involved with Lily I just…I still haven't got my head around it all yet."

"Okay," Rory nodded. "If time is what you need, then sure. I'm glad that you want to get to know Lily but Logan, you need to be sure about what you want because once you come into her life, I need you to be there. Like really be there."

"I'm not your dad Rory," Logan said firmly.

Rory bit her lip. Lorelai had obviously opened up to Logan about some of Rory's deep-rooted fears about her relationship with her own father. She'd always known Christopher but he'd never really been there for her on a permanent basis, always flitting in and out of her life. She could never depend on him. He was reliably unreliable and he had hurt both her and her mom too many times to count. It was the one thing that she wanted to protect her own daughter from.

"Okay"

"I want to be involved, I want to be there for Lily, but I need you to understand that I am not ready yet. I need to take this slowly."

"If that's what you need" Rory nodded.

"It is," Logan said as he got up to leave and put on his coat. As he walked away he turned back to the table. "I just wish you'd told me, Rory, things could have been different," he said before he turned and walked out of the coffee shop.

* * *

Later that evening Rory had just got Lily out of the bath when there was a knock on the door of the pool house. She hadn't been expected anyone so she wondered who it was. She wrapped Lily in a towel and walked over to the door to see who it was.

"Honor!" Rory said in shock "I wasn't expecting you."

"I know, sorry for turning up announced" she smiled. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Erm, yeah, sure," Rory said nervously. "Come in, of course. Sit please" she said gesturing towards the sofa.

"So, this is Lily!" she exclaimed. "Can I hold her?" Honor said arms outstretched.

Rory handed chewed on her lip and silently handed over her daughter to Honor.

"Rory, there's no need to look so nervous, I'm not here to cause any trouble. I just wanted to meet my niece, and talk to you about my stubborn pig-headed brother" she rolled her eyes.

"Why aren't you just the beautiful little lady" Honor said bouncing a smiling Lily on her knee "She looks a lot like my Fifi, you know Rory. Different color eyes, but the similarities are there."

"Yes," she smiled "Logan showed me a photo of Fifi when we first met up. I kind of thought the same"

"How lovely that Lily and Ophelia are cousins, and so close in age. They're going to get up to lots of mischief I know it" Honor said with a twinkle in her eye. "They have both got a little bit of Huntzberger in them after all."

"Honor why are you being so nice to me? I'm an awful person" Rory said sitting down next to her on the sofa.

"Oh, nonsense. You're not an awful person"

Rory shook her head. "Look what I've done to Logan. I've really hurt him. I've never seen him so angry"

"He'll come round Rory, he always does. He has a short fuse but's not a complete ass."

"I saw him today," Rory said.

"You did?"

"We met for coffee. It was very strained and not exactly pleasant but he told me that he wanted to be involved with Lily."

Honor smiled "Of course he wants to be involved with this little princess," she said kissing Lily on the nose. "I never doubted him for one minute. He's just really hurting right now. Rory, why didn't you tell him you were pregnant?"

Rory took a deep breath. Right now, she had no idea. All her reasons, the reasons she had been so sure of just seemed ridiculous now.

"When he gave me the all or nothing ultimatum on my graduation day, I couldn't believe it. I thought we were really in love, I thought that we'd go the distance. The proposal came out of the blue and I was overwhelmed. Completely overwhelmed, but it wasn't the right time for us and he wasn't prepared to wait so we broke up and it was the hardest thing I've ever been through. It was like a bereavement. Logan never called or got in touch and I didn't think he would want to hear from me. It completely broke me Honor. And then I got this job offer – this fantastic job offer from Hugo to go on the Obama campaign trail. It was amazing and I started to pick myself up. I mean, one of my reasons for not marrying Logan was that I wanted to pursue my career and here was a golden opportunity but then…"

"…you found out you were pregnant."

"Yep," Rory nodded. "And I didn't know what to do. I considered having an abortion but I couldn't do it. Not when it was mine and Logan's. So I decided to go through with it, on my own. I thought about telling him I was pregnant, many times but I figured that he wouldn't want anything to do with me since I rejected him and there was no way I wanted him with me out of pity. I don't think I ever really intended to keep it from him this long but as time went on it became so much harder. And then when Lily was born, I felt this need to protect her. I don't want her to have a part-time dad. I'd rather she didn't have one at all."

Honor smiled at her sadly. "Logan would have done the right thing you know, and not out of pity, he really loved you."

"Yeah. I really loved him too." Rory said as she took Lily back off Honor. "Oh, what a tangled web we weave huh."

"How have you left it with him?"

"He wanted a bit more time to adjust to things"

"That's understandable" Honor nodded "He's probably still thinking about how he's going to tell them about it."

"Your parents?" Rory grimaced.

"Don't worry, they've mellowed. A bit. And they'll just melt when they see this little one." She said standing up "Right, I had better be going, I only popped out for tonic water allegedly. Don't tell my brother I was here!"

"I won't, thanks for stopping by Honor. I'm really glad that you're not throwing daggers at me."

Honor tilted her head at Rory and smiled "Never! Now, remember, underneath everything Logan is a really good guy Rory. Don't give up on him. He's going to get there." She said as blew her a kiss and walked out of the pool house.

* * *

After Rory had popped Lily into bed, she decided to run a relaxing bath. It had been an emotionally wrought day and she figured an aromatherapy bubble bath was just what she needed. God bless Emily Gilmore for installing a spa bathtub in the pool house for her, she thought as she lay back and let the jets get to work on the tight knots in her back.

She closed her eyes and digested everything that had happened today. Meeting with Logan had been a huge step forward. Sure, he was cold and unfeeling with her but she knew that this was a normal reaction for him. Anyone else might have run scared from it but she knew Logan inside out and was well aware that this was the hard outer exterior he put on to protect himself.

Rory thought about what Honor had said about not giving up on him. Rory had all these worries and concerns about letting Logan into their lives but Honor was right, he was a good guy and Logan was right too – he wasn't Christopher. Why did she feel like she had to shut him out before he'd even had the chance to prove himself? She didn't know how she was going to make any of this right but she knew that she couldn't give up on trying to fix it. She reached over to the side of the tub and grabbed her cell phone to type out a message.

 _"We're here when you're ready"._

* * *

Logan had already got into bed when he heard his cell phone beep. It had been a long day and all the thinking and repeated overthinking he was doing exhausted him. He stuck his arm out of bed and felt the bedside table to find the phone in the dark. When he located it he picked up to read the message that was illuminated on the screen.

 _"We're here when you're ready"._

He put the phone back down on the bedside table and rolled over to sleep but sleep wouldn't come to him. After a few hours of tossing and turning in the dark, he reached over to get his cell phone again before replying to Rory's message with two simple words.

 _"I'm ready"._

* * *

 **A/N: I want to ask you a question - today I have been working on my first 'mature content'. It's not something I've put into any of my chapters before but it's kind of relevant to the story. Before I move forward with this angle (further into the future) is anyone vehemently opposed to sex scenes in fan fiction? Would you prefer this story to not have this? Do you prefer it to be implied? Let me know!**


	9. Whoa

Rory opened her eyes slowly and yawned and stretched her arms upwards. She wondered what time it was, figuring that it had to be relatively early as it was a very rare occasion that she woke up before Lily, the human alarm clock did. She reached over to her bedside table for her cell phone so she could check the time and was surprised to see a little envelope symbol flashing in the corner of the screen. She opened the message; she could see it was from Logan.

"I'm ready".

Her eyes widened. What did that mean? He's ready?

She sat up in her bed quickly. She needed to reply as soon as possible but had no idea what she should say in response. Rory typed out so many different replies, many long rambling responses, but nothing sounded quite right.

"Why don't you come over?"

Simple and to the point.

When Logan had received her message he had called her back and arranged to come over to the pool house later that day. Rory was extremely nervous and had busied herself tidying and cleaning the place from top to bottom. She was only glad that her grandparents had left for a few months in Europe or else Emily would have had a seizure at seeing Rory with the feather duster in her hand and not one of the many maids that she employed. She had just got Lily changed to a special outfit – she wanted her to look nice for her first proper meeting with her father – when Logan tapped at the door.

Logan waited outside the door, his heart in his mouth. He wanted to turn and run but all too soon he heard Rory's voice calling out.

"Come in!" Rory shouted. Logan opened the door to see Rory on the other side of the room where she had just placed Lily down on the rug to play with her toys. She settled Lily down in a nest of cushions and then walked over to greet Logan.

"I'm really glad you came, I hadn't expected to hear from you so soon, but I'm so glad you are here." she smiled.

Logan smiled back, it was slightly warmer than the smile he had offered her at the coffee shop but he stood by the door awkwardly not really knowing what to say or do. After Rory had invited him over, he had become unsure of what he was doing. Yesterday he had felt like he wasn't ready to face things but lying in bed with nothing to do but think all night had cleared his head a little. He was still experiencing a lot of anger towards Rory and the whole situation in general but he knew that he needed to try and push past those feelings because this wasn't just about him, or Rory. There was someone else to consider in all of this.

"Come over, we were just about to play with the noisy toys. Lily just loves the noisy toys" Rory rolled her eyes as they both knelt down on the rug next to Lily who was completely disinterested in the pair of them, her attention being taken by a light-up drum that was playing an incredibly annoying melody. "My mom's doing…I think it's some kind of revenge" she said laughing as she picked Lily up and gave her a cuddle.

Rory could feel Logan watching her. She turned to him. "Do you…do you want to hold her?" she asked tentatively.

Logan looked at her nervously. "I'm….I'm not really sure. She doesn't know me, will she want to come to me?"

Rory smiled "Of course she will, she's not a shy girl at all, she just loves everyone. Lily, you see this guy here? This is your daddy" she cooed at the little girl in her arms.

Logan looked at Rory talking softly to their daughter, calling him daddy, and he felt like his heart was going to burst right out of his chest.

"Logan," she said as she handed over the little girl "I know you have already kind of met but I would like to properly introduce you to Lily." Rory smiled as Logan took hold of her.

The emotions Logan felt as he held his daughter for the first times were indescribable. He still couldn't believe that this little girl belonged to him – that this was something that he and Rory had created together.

"or…" Rory continued "….Lily Lorelai Huntzberger as she is more formally known."

Logan turned to look at Rory open-mouthed "You gave her my name?". He felt a swell of pride that this beautiful little girl bore his name. He hadn't really considered what her full name would be but he would have presumed that Rory had chosen to go with Gilmore like her mother had done before her.

Rory shrugged "It seemed the right thing to do at the time. Plus I was totally out of it when I named her – the drugs they give you when you are in labour are awesome" she smiled. "Almost worth doing again for those alone"

"You went with Lorelai too?"

"Had to, it's tradition" she laughed "but I didn't really want her to be known as that and so I chose a different name for her altogether. All through my pregnancy, she was intended to be a Gilmore. I wasn't keen on heaping on the pressure of being the fourth Lorelai Gilmore – there's a whole load of baggage that comes with that."

"So, Lily Huntzberger." He nodded. "I like that," Logan said. "It suits her"

"I'll go get us some coffee?" she asked and Logan nodded.

Rory stood in the kitchen waiting for the coffee and watched as Logan interacted with their daughter. He had been a little awkward at first but he was slowly becoming more comfortable. Lily was being her normal charming self, which made it all the more easier.

Logan sat back down on the rug with Lily while Rory made the coffee. There had been so many times on the way over to the house that he had nearly turned the car around but he kept forcing himself to continue, knowing that this was something he was going to have to face sooner or later. Sitting there now he was glad that he had pushed through. He looked at the little girl sitting in front of him, handing him her favourite toys and he already knew that he was going to love Lily, how could he not - she was part of him and part of the only girl he had ever loved. There was no doubt in his mind about that. What he was most worried about was what sort of relationship, if any, he would have with Rory in the future. This, out of everything was the unchartered waters that they were heading into. They hadn't been together for over eighteen months and therefore it was unlikely that they would become a couple again anytime in the near future – especially as right now they were barely friends and things were fractious but Logan was confused about what this meant and uneasy about the difficult times they were bound to have ahead of them.

"Here you go," Rory said as she returned with two steaming mugs of hot coffee. "Oh someone is tired!" she exclaimed as Lily let out a huge yawn, "I think I had better put her down for a little nap or we will soon be paying for it. She has a decent set of lungs this one. I'll just take her…unless…." She paused looking at Logan "….unless you want to do it"

"Erm, sure, I mean, I don't know what I am doing but I've got to start somewhere I guess." Logan smiled nervously.

"Okay, well why don't you bring her in and I'll come with you." Rory smiled as Logan bent down to pick up Lily. The little girl surprised him by extending her arms out to reach him. Logan followed Rory into the bedroom. He thought how weird it felt to be in this room again, the scene of many a romantic tryst between the pair in their Yale days. He could never have imagined that this is where they would be now.

"All you have to do is pop her into the crib there and pull that blanket up. I normally just leave it level with her tummy." She watched Logan do as she said "Then I just give her a little kiss and leave her to it" Rory said leaning in to drop a kiss on Lily's head.

"That's it?"

"That's it! She's a very good sleeper thankfully." Rory said as they walked out of the room and pulled the door over behind them. "Right, we have about half an hour now before she walks up and will demand refreshments!"

Logan and Rory walked over and sat down on the sofa with their coffee.

"Thanks for inviting me round," Logan said before taking a sip.

"Of course! I mean, I am so grateful that you've come Logan, really. I had half-expected you to say no."

"It wasn't easy…." Logan said staring down into the bottom of his cup.

"I know". Rory said gently.

"Rory, can I ask you something?" he said without looking at her.

"Anything" Rory shifted a bit uncomfortably, she had no idea what he was about to ask her but she felt like she owed it to him, to be honest about anything he needed to know.

"When I saw Lorelai she explained a few things to me. She kind of intimated that you had thought about having an abortion when you found out. Is that true?"

Rory looked down. She was embarrassed that her mom had told Logan that about that. "Yes," she said quietly. "I thought about it."

Logan looked across at her. "What stopped you?"

"A few things really. A major part was knowing that even though my mom had that option with me, she didn't take it and I really felt that if she could do it, get through it on her own at that young age, then so could I but I guess the other reason, the main one really was because of….us.

"Us?" Logan questioned.

Rory took a swig of her coffee before continuing. "Yeah, you and me" she paused before she took a deep breath. She knew she was about to enter into a lengthy ramble. "I know there wasn't at 'us' by that point but we had this big love, you and I. It was an amazing thing and Lily, while she may have been an accident and a huge shock, she came to exist as part of that love. I knew that if I had terminated the pregnancy that would most definitely be the end of the road for us, for good, there would be no going back and I didn't want to close that door. She was a part of us that I couldn't let go of." Logan went to interrupt but Rory held up her hand "Please, let me finish, I need to get all this out."

Logan nodded for her to continue.

"I found out I was pregnant only a few weeks after we broke up and my heart had been shattered into pieces. I was still at that time clinging on to every little last bit of hope that you and I would reconcile. Blame the hormones, but I had this crazy idea that you'd call, we'd makeup, I'd tell you that I was pregnant and we'd all live happily ever after, but as the time went on I knew that it was becoming more unlikely. Before you say anything Logan, I am not even near suggesting that is what I think will happen now. So much has happened, we're eighteen months further down the line and I know what I've since done to you is unforgivable. I never told you I was pregnant and I have denied you nine months of getting to know your daughter. I don't blame you for hating me for the rest of your life."

"I don't hate you. It's going to take me a while to come to terms with everything, but I don't hate you Rory" Logan said looking at Rory.

"You don't?"

"No. I mean, I wanted to but how could I hate you? Look what you've given me! Sure we have a lot of stuff to deal with right now but at the end of the day, you're the mother of my child, you're always going to be an important part of my life. I'm glad you decided to go through with the pregnancy by the way."

"Yeah, me too. I couldn't imagine my life without Lily now. She's the reason I drag my sorry ass out of bed every day." Rory smiled.

"I can see that she could have that effect." Logan laughed.

"Just as well with no job or career, I need something to get up for," Rory said with a hint of sadness.

"I'm sorry that you've had to sacrifice that, you know," Logan said sincerely. "I know how important it was for you to establish your career."

"Thanks," Rory said with a grateful smile. "There's plenty of time though, I guess I'll just have to do it all in a different order."

Just then a sharp cry interrupted them.

"Oh, there's Lady Lily waking from her nap" Rory smiled "She does like to announce herself," she said about to pull herself up from the sofa.

"Let me go," Logan said as he got up.

"Sure."

Rory watched as Logan walked into the bedroom. She could feel her heart beating as she listened to him talking gently to their little girl. It was about more than she could take when she saw him emerge from the room carrying their daughter. Lily was sleepy, sucking her thumb gently, with her head snuggled on Logan's shoulder and Rory couldn't help but think how well they just fit together. It caused her equal amounts of both joy and pain.

Logan noticed Rory looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing" Rory shook her head "It's nothing."

Logan stayed at the pool house for a little while longer, helping to feed Lily her dinner and he played with her some more before he needed to leave.

Rory and Lily went to the door to say goodbye. Despite the initial awkwardness, the three of them had a really nice afternoon together and Rory was hopeful that they might be able to do it again sometime time but she was mindful that she didn't want to push Logan to do anything before he was ready.

"Thanks for coming Logan, it's been great"

"I had a nice time too" he smiled. "Bye Lily, I'll see you soon." He said and smiled as Rory waved Lily's little hand. "Bye Rory." He said as he started to walk away.

"Logan!" Rory shouted after him. He turned to look at her "Just so you know, you're really important to us too" she smiled.

 **A/N: Have updated this chapter as I mentioned Lily having 'tea' and this was picked up by a reader presuming this was the drink. Sorry, a total British reference, we have tea (food not drink) in place of an evening meal!**


	10. Escape Route

After the first successful meet-up with Lily, Rory and Logan spent a few more afternoons together so Logan and Lily could become a little bit more acquainted with each other.

Logan had been worried that it would be hard for them to find a way to bond but Lily was the most agreeable little girl who took to him like a duck to water and it wasn't surprising that she had stolen his heart away almost immediately. In addition, he also felt like he could be on the way to repairing his fractured relationship with Rory. He didn't think that he would ever fully understand her reasons for doing what she did but he had accepted that in order to move forward with their lives he had to try and let it go, however hard that was for him. There were still times when Logan felt unbelievable pain about the whole situation – not just on missing out on the time that he could have had with Lily but down to the fact that Rory, who he had once loved so deeply, just hadn't felt able to turn to him.

Rory immensely enjoyed seeing Logan and Lily together. She'd had so many concerns about Logan being a part-time father and while it was extremely early days and she didn't want to get her hopes up at all, so far everything was going well and he'd been completely reliable. She could tell by watching him with Lily that Logan loved her already and it made her heart swell. He'd spent a fair amount of time over the past few weeks at the pool house and she was just about adjusting to having him around. It was on one such afternoon that the conversation that Rory had been waiting for, and also dreading, reared its ugly head.

Logan arrived at the pool house and knocked at the door before entering. He greeted Rory with a smile and picked up Lily who was crawling her away over to him and he planted a big kiss on the top of her head. He looked over at Rory nervously.

"Hey Logan, I wasn't expecting you today was I…." Rory trailed off when she looked at his face. "Oh no. I know that look Huntzberger. What is it?"

Logan forgot just how well Rory knew him. She could always tell when he was about to be the bearer of bad news.

"Come on, spit it out." she said, hand on her hip.

"So, I am having dinner with my parents tonight…"

Rory groaned. She knew exactly where the conversation was headed.

"…and I am going to tell them tonight. About Lily."

"Okay…" Rory said slowly.

"I was kind of hoping you would come with me…." Logan said with a little smile.

Rory looked at him aghast. "What?! No way!"

"Please!" Logan begged, "I really want them to meet Lily, I think it will make the whole thing easier."

"Easier for who? You? It won't be easier for me!" Rory groaned.

"Easier all round. They're going to find it difficult to see the bad in any of this once this gorgeous little creature dazzles them." He said bouncing Lily up and down.

Rory pouted. She knew that Logan was right, and she knew that she owed him big time. He'd been more than reasonable about the whole situation over the past few weeks and if she was honest with herself, she knew that this shouldn't even be something they were having to deal with right now so the least she could do was support him.

"Fine." She said. "I'll come. But let it be put on the record, I am not happy about this" she said wagging her finger at Logan.

"Great. I'll come pick you up later" he smiled.

"Well that seems silly Logan, you're living there so it will be a bit weird for you to come here and get me won't it? It's not a date," she said laughing "I'll just meet you there."

"Are you sure?" Logan said with a raised eyebrow.

"Absolutely"

* * *

A few hours later and Rory was really regretting telling Logan she'd meet him at his parents, in fact, she was regretting the whole thing altogether! As she approached the driveway of the Huntzberger estate the nerves had started to kick in.

"I hope you're ready for this Lily," She said looking in her rear view mirror at her daughter "And remember, whatever happens, they're your family, not mine kid. You're stuck with them" she sighed.

She pulled the car up outside the entrance and the front door immediately swung open.

"Waiting for someone?" she smiled at Logan as he walked over to her. "Oh boy, do you look nervous. So…how do you want to do this" Rory said as she unclipped Lily out of the car seat. She had put Lily in her absolute best dress for the occasion and was so grateful that she hadn't spit up on it during the short journey there.

"I have no idea" Logan admitted. "I don't know whether I should go in first, or we should just walk into together. No, maybe I should take Lily in. Although that might spook them. Maybe you should wait here, actually…."

Rory put her hand up to stop Logan "Enough! I'm the rambler out of the two of us. You need to calm down." She said as she put her hand on his arm gently, an affectionate touch which didn't go unnoticed by Logan. In the past few weeks, they'd barely touched at all. "Why don't we just go in together and get it over and done with, like ripping a band-aid off. Only it's bound to be a lot less pleasant than that…."

Logan smiled at Rory who had a snuggly Lily resting on her shoulder. This was going to be so much easier with them both on the same team. They'd always had each other's back.

"Okay. Let's do it." He said as he slipped his hand into Rory's free hand. It was a natural protective instinct, a united front. and while this small act took Rory by surprise, she was grateful for the feeling of familiarly and comfort at that moment.

* * *

Rory and Logan walked into the dining room where Mitchum and Shira were already seated at the table.

"Well, it's about time Logan…" Shira stopped talking suddenly when she saw who her son was with. "Mitchum…." She whispered to alert him to their presence. "MITCHUM!" she repeated louder when he didn't look up from his newspaper.

Mitchum raised his head and they looked at their son stood with Rory and then to the little girl that was busy twirling Rory's hair around with her fingers.

"Logan what is going on here…" Mitchum asked slowly.

"Mom, Dad…there isn't really an easy way to tell you this so I'm just going to come right out with it. This…" he said gesturing to the little girl in Rory's arms "…is Lily. My daughter." He said firmly. "Well, our daughter I mean," he said smiling at Rory.

"I…I don't understand," Shira said clutching her hand to her chest. "Your daughter? What do you mean? How can you have a daughter Logan? That's not possible. No, I don't believe it."

"Oh, it is possible, so you had better start believing it," Logan said. Lily was fidgeting in Rory's arms and reaching out for him so he took hold of her and walked over to sit down at the dining table, signalling for Rory to join him. She nervously sat down next to him.

"I don't really know what to say, Logan," Mitchum said. "Why have you not told us before now?"

Rory bit her lip nervously and looked down at the table. This was not a conversation she wanted to be having. She looked at Logan and gently shook her head, using her sparkling blue eyes to apologize once again.

"Because I only just found out myself," Logan said.

Rory closed her eyes and waited for the fallout that was sure to come.

Shira jumped up from the table. "WHAT!" she yelled. "What do you mean you have only just found out! This child….is what? A year old?"

"She's nine months old," Logan told his mother.

"Shira, sit down" Mitchum barked at her. Shira looked at her husband, her cheeks reddening. Of all the things she despised, being scolded by her husband in front of people was one of the things she hated the most. Embarrassed, she took her seat back at the table.

Logan looked at Rory before he started talking to his parents and mouthed an "I'm sorry" to her. He knew that by telling his parents exactly what had happened he was basically hand-feeding her to the wolves but he was conscious that he was currently trying to rebuild a relationship with his parents again and for that reason he needed, to be honest. He took a deep breath.

"Rory found out she was pregnant after I had moved to California. We were no longer in contact. She had her reasons for not telling me which we've discussed and I think that should remain between us. I found out about Lily a couple of weeks ago when I first moved back here and since then we've been spending some time getting to know each other" he said as he gently stroked the top of his daughters head and soft blonde curls. "That's the short version anyhow."

For a few moments, nobody said anything.

"This explains your sudden disappearance from society," Shira said directly to Rory, picking up her wine glass and taking a sip, "Everybody thought you were off working somewhere, chasing a career but seemingly you were just hiding out?"

"I wasn't hiding," Rory said finding her voice. "I've been living right in here in Hartford with my grandparents the whole time."

Shira looked at Rory "Emily never said a word, she never even mentioned you were pregnant."

Rory shrugged "Why would she? As much as she loves Lily, I'm sure that she wasn't exactly bursting with pride that her granddaughter was about to be a single mother but then it also wasn't really anybody else's business." She said uncomfortably.

"Are you two together?" Mitchum asked.

Logan shook his head. "No. You know we've not been together since Rory's graduation but that makes no real difference. I am going to take care of my daughter whatever."

Mitchum nodded. "It's the right thing to do. And of course, we will help."

Logan looked at his father with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that Logan, sometimes I don't know you take me for." Mitchum said "She's your daughter, so she's family and we look after our family. The first thing we should do is make sure you both have somewhere appropriate to live." Mitchum said looking at Rory.

"Oh no!" Rory said shaking her head, a little bit stunned. "I mean, thank you, but I'm absolutely fine where I am. The pool house is more than enough for us."

"You plan on living with Emily and Richard forever?" Mitchum asked with a smirk. "I'm not sure how I feel about my grandchild living in a pool house."

"No, it may not be ideal, but I'll sort it out on my own. I don't want your money," she said firmly.

"Fair enough" Mitchum nodded his head "but the offer stands".

Logan looked at Rory and smiled. He knew that as she hadn't been able to work yet, she had no money and her living situation was far from ideal but he also knew how independent she was. There was no way on earth she would have accepted an offer from Mitchum. He had been surprised at his father even offering, but Logan had his own ideas and knew that it was his responsibility to provide for Lily.

"Logan….may I…I mean can I hold her?" Shira stumbled over her words. It had been a shock learning about Rory and Lily but Shira, whatever her personal opinions, couldn't neglect that fact this was her granddaughter.

Logan turned to Rory to make sure she was okay with him handing over Lily. He had only been in their lives for a few weeks and he wasn't anywhere near comfortable calling the shots when it came to their daughter. Rory nodded and Logan and his mother stood up and walked over to the living area where Shira sat down and Logan placed Lily on her lap.

Despite Shira's initial shock, she couldn't help but smile at the little blue-eyed darling in front of her. Lily, as always, was working her charm. It seemed not everyone was intimidated by Mitchum and Shira, Rory thought to herself as Shira cooed at Lily and Lily rewarded her with a cute giggle.

"Oh Logan, she's just beautiful." Shira smiled.

"Well I didn't do it all on my own mom," he said, hinting at her.

Shira looked at him and smiled apologetically. "Rory, she's just perfect. Aren't we lucky Mitchum? Now we have two beautiful granddaughters" she said as she rubbed noses with Lily.

"Well, that was a turn up for the books huh," Logan said to Rory as he walked her out to her car.

"It certainly was!" Rory said, carefully taking a sleeping Lily out of Logan's arms and popping her into her car seat in the back of the car.

"I never expected my mom to be won over so quickly" he laughed.

"Lily kind of does that to people".

"She sure does" Logan smiled "Thanks for coming tonight, Rory. I know it wasn't easy but it meant a lot to me that you came".

"Sure" Rory returned his smile. She leaned across and put her arms around Logan, giving him a brief hug. Surprised, he put his arm around her and returned the hug. She had no idea why she had felt the need to do it, but she had just felt so proud of him and the way he had handled the situation.

Rory pulled away from the hug, feeling slightly embarrassed and looked at him, his arm still holding her. "I'm sorry" she started to say "I didn't mean to…." She stopped, feeling the tension between them.

Logan looked at Rory. He'd never felt more like he wanted to kiss her than he did in that moment. Their faces edged towards each other and Rory closed her eyes in anticipation of Logan's lips meeting hers.

Just as their lips touched for the briefest of seconds, they were interrupted by the sound of a cell phone beeping in Rory's bag. They both pulled back quickly.

Logan rubbed his hand through his hair "Okay" he said opening the car door for Rory. "So…..goodnight."

"Goodnight," Rory said quietly, not quite looking at Logan, suddenly aware of what had almost happened.


	11. Where The Lines Overlap

Logan lay back on his bed and thought about the almost-kiss that had just occurred that night. It had come out of nowhere. If they'd hadn't been interrupted what would have happened? Logan had mixed feelings on the subject. Part of him was longing to kiss Rory again, the other part of him felt that his heart was betraying him. Rory had hurt him so badly, he just wasn't sure if that was a road he could go down again.

Rory had put Lily straight to bed when she got back to the pool house. She was really glad that as she was tired out from all the excitement of meeting new people, she was happy to go straight to bed as she desperately needed some thinking time. Once she had settled her daughter, Rory poured herself a large glass of wine and relaxed onto the sofa to relive the events of what almost happened. They had almost kissed! Rory had no idea whether it was herself that instigated or was it him? She wasn't even sure that was something she really wanted and yet, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that they had been interrupted.

* * *

"Lorelai's House of Pain…."

Rory cut her mother off before she could go any further. "Mom, one day you're going to do that to the wrong person you know."

"Duh, we have this new-fangled technology these days, you might have heard of it. It's called caller ID…."

"Whatever" Rory laughed.

"So, what can I do for you dear daughter, I am presuming that at this time of the evening, this is not just a social call…" Lorelai asked.

"Not really. I just needed to talk to someone." Rory said tentatively.

"Gee I feel special" Lorelai joked "Sounds ominous kid. Shoot."

"So…I went to dinner at the Huntzbergers house tonight, you know, so we could break the news about Lily and introduce her to them."

Lorelai was a little surprised. "Really?! And how did they take it?"

"They were a bit shocked, obviously, as you would be, but they took it surprisingly well actually. But that's not what I need to talk about." Rory said firmly.

"It's not. Okay…I'm all ears"

"When we were saying goodbye…Logan and I we…nearly kissed." Rory said quickly.

"Oh my gosh Rory, what a startling revelation. Whatever you do, don't let Emily Gilmore know that you're kissing boys now….she'll have that Reverend back around faster than you can blink…."

"Mom!" Rory sighed.

"What!"

"Be serious!"

Lorelai laughed. "Sorry kid, but you and Logan have kissed like a million times. Maybe more. I know. I've had the unfortunate experience of walking in on you two making out on more than one occasion. That boy can certainly go for it huh!"

Rory groaned and rolled her eyes. "I knew I should have called Lane instead"

"Okay, I'm being serious. So you 'nearly' kissed, what does that mean." Lorelai asked.

"Exactly that. I gave him a hug goodbye and then we just nearly kissed." Rory said reliving the moment in her head for the hundredth time.

"And what stopped you?"

"My cell phone – thanks for that timely interruption mom!" Rory had checked her cell as soon as she had got in the car and had seen that it was her mom messaging her a dirty limerick.

"Ha, okay, whoops, it was good one though wasn't it?" Lorelai said getting distracted. "So anyway, who was the instigator of the kiss? I mean was it you moving in for the kill or was it him because that makes a difference."

"I don't know that's part of the problem. Both of us maybe? I honestly don't know." Rory was so confused.

"And how did you leave things then?"

"I got in my car and drove home. Ugh, this is so awkward." Rory said slapping her palm against her forehead.

"Well, is it what you want Ror? I mean, did you want him to kiss you?" Lorelai asked gently.

"Yes. No. I don't know." Rory said indecisively. "No. It's not what I want" she said firmly, although Lorelai couldn't help but think it sounded a lot like Rory was trying to convince herself rather than offer up a firm declaration of what she truly wanted.

"It's not," Lorelai said resolutely. "Definitely not."

"No. Logan and I, we can't get into that right now, if ever. I mean, he's only just getting to know Lily and it's been a long time sine we've been together. Trying to make a relationship work now, it will just complicate things, right?"

Lorelai nodded. "You're probably right, but there's obviously still some feelings there. Or maybe you just really really need to get laid."

"Mom!"

"What?! All I am saying is that it's been a while since you got any bow chicka wow wow action, am I wrong? I'm not wrong am I…" Lorelai teased her daughter.

"No but…I can't really see how that is going to help things." Rory rolled her eyes even though Lorelai couldn't see.

"This kissing thing. Perhaps it's not really about Logan, perhaps you're just missing that intimacy you know. You've decided you're not going to get down and dirty with Logan so maybe what you need is a date to take the edge off. Ooh, what about with that whatshisname that my mother tried to pair you off with" Lorelai said eagerly.

"Carter? Well, he did message me the other day asking me to meet up…"

"Can't hurt can it?" Lorelai encouraged. She knew that Rory needed to relax and let her hair down a bit. And maybe, just maybe, she thought that going on a date with someone else would help her understand her feelings for Logan. Lorelai was nothing but sneaky and underhand sometimes when it came to helping Rory to make decisions – it was always meant with love though!

"Guess not, I did like him." Rory nodded to herself "Okay, you're right, I'll call him back. There's nothing to lose right?"

* * *

A few days later Rory found herself getting ready for her first date with Carter. She hadn't seen or heard from Logan since they'd nearly kissed which she thought was a little bit unusual as he'd been pretty much omnipresent over the past few weeks but she figured he was perhaps feeling as awkward as her about the near-kiss experience and she tried not to read too much into it.

Carter had been really quite pleased to hear from Rory and she was even half-excited herself to be going out on an actual date, and getting dressed up. It was a long time since she'd been out to dinner with a man she wasn't related to, so she spent a little extra time pampering herself and making sure she looked her best. She picked up her clutch bag and ran to the door when she heard her date arrive.

"Wow, Rory, you look amazing," Carter said with a smile as he handed her a bunch of flowers.

Rory took the flowers and put them on the side table. "Thanks, Carter" Rory said blushing slightly. It was a while since she'd be complimented by someone she didn't know very well but it was nice to know that her efforts had been appreciated. She'd decided to play it safe but sexy with a fitted black dress which had a slightly daring backless design, paired with strappy black heels. She had curled her hair lightly and kept her make-up simple with a flash of red on her lips. She'd always been a 'less-is-more' kind of girl when it came to jewellery but had settled on the diamond chandelier earrings she had received as a 21st birthday present.

"Are you ready to go?" Carter said holding out his arm for her to take.

A short drive later and they pulled up outside a restaurant in Hartford called The Capital Grille. Rory had passed by several times but had never been before.

"I hope this is okay for you?" Carter asked somewhat nervously as they took their seats at their table. "I wasn't really sure what you would like and I've heard this place is really good."

"This is great" Rory smiled. "Wow it all sounds so delicious," she said looking at the menu. After some deliberation she settled on the prosciutto wrapped mozzarella for her appetizer, followed by the fresh Maine lobster and finally finished off the meal with warm double chocolate cake with port wine infused cherries and ice-cream.

The date had been what she would consider a success. She'd had an enjoyable evening and her mind had definitely been taken away from Logan. While she wasn't sure that there was any real chemistry between herself and Carter she had enjoyed his company.

"I am so full, I don't think I could eat another thing," Rory said picking up her glass of wine. Just as she took a sip, out of the corner of her eye she noticed the people sitting in the booth on the other side of the room. She couldn't believe that out of all the restaurants in Hartford, Logan and his family would be dining in the same one as her and her date. She hoped that they would be able to leave without them seeing her. Rory knew she wasn't doing anything wrong but she just didn't want any awkward moments to ruin what had been a nice evening.

After Carter had paid the bill, he went to collect their coats. Rory was just waiting by the entrance to the restaurant when she heard someone call her name.

"Damn!" she thought to herself before turning around to see Honor bounding towards her with a beaming smile.

"Fancy seeing you here Rory! You look a-mazing, that dress is gorgeous on you. Are you just arriving?" Honor chatted enthusiastically.

"No, I've just finished dinner actually I'm just on my way…"

"Isn't it delicious?" Honor interrupted "I've eaten so much I think they're going to have to practically roll me out of the door in a moment" Honor laughed "Are you here with friends?"

"Um, sort of…" Rory started to say.

"Logan! Look who is here!" Honor called her brother over enthusiastically.

Rory pursed her lips. This is exactly the scene that she had wanted to avoid. She looked up to see Logan approaching with his parents and Josh trailing behind.

"Rory, I wasn't expecting to see you tonight" he smiled. She smiled back as his parents greeted her and silence fell on the group.

Well, this couldn't really be any more awkward, Rory thought to herself. Except as with all these situations - it could get more awkward and it did when Carter arrived back with her coat.

"There you are, sorry it took so long Rory, they couldn't find one of the coats." He said as he walked back over to her.

"Thanks," she said as she took her coat out of his hands.

"Are you ready to go?" he said gently placing his hand on her lower back. Logan glared at Rory as Carter's hand connected with her bare skin. Rory held his stare. Carter looked up at the people that she was now stood with and smiled at them. "So sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Are you friends of Rory's? I am Carter Hamilton" he said breezily.

Logan went to open his mouth but Rory jumped in. "Yes, these are some old friends of mine." She said quickly. Logan scoffed and Rory rolled her eyes. This wasn't exactly where she wanted to have this conversation with her date or anyone for that matter but she wasn't about to start letting Logan have the upper hand. She was sure that Logan probably thought that she hadn't told Carter that she had a child.

"In fact, this is Logan, he is Lily's father" she smiled sweetly.

"Oh…right," Carter said. "Nice to meet you." He said sticking out his hand.

Logan paused long enough for it to feel like he was going to leave him hanging but eventually he took his hand and shook it firmly. "Likewise."

"Hamilton….are you Spencer Hamilton's boy?" Mitchum asked.

"Yes sir, I am." Carter nodded.

"Ah very good, very good" Mitchum smiled. "Me and Spencer, we go back a long way, he's a good man".

Rory couldn't take much more of Logan staring at her. "I'm sorry to rush out on you guys but I really have to get back now for the sitter. Carter, could we…? It was nice seeing you all." She said as she walked away.

Carter dropped Rory home. There was the awkward moment when they didn't quite know how to say goodbye to each other. Carter would have loved to have kissed Rory and earlier in the evening he had thought that was perhaps how the night would have ended but there had been a shift in Rory's mood so he settled for a chaste kiss on her cheek after he walked her to the door.

She had only been in the pool house for a few minutes when there was a knock at the door. Half expecting it to be Carter back for some reason she jumped up and opened it, surprised to find Logan standing there.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Rory raised her eyebrow and gestured for him to enter. "What are you doing here Logan?" she asked him pointedly.

"You were on a date?" he asked her incredulously. She didn't answer him immediately. "Well?"

"Oh come on Logan, you know I was," Rory said throwing her hands up in the air.

"You never told me that you were dating anyone. In fact, when I asked you if you were seeing anyone you said no. Was that just another of your lies?" Logan said slightly bitterly.

"I'm not seeing anyone! It was just one date, that's all." Rory said, wondering why she was explaining herself to her ex-boyfriend.

"Well you looked pretty cosy"

"He's a nice guy," she said simply.

"You should have told me" Logan demanded.

"Why! Why do you care? It's none of your business" Rory said, frustrated.

"It's absolutely my business who you bring into our daughter's life," Logan said firmly.

"Oh for heaven's sake Logan. You're going to start to tell me what I should and shouldn't be doing with Lily? You've only been in her life for five minutes." Rory yelled. She immediately regretted the cutting words she threw at him.

Logan looked at her open-mouthed. "Are you for real? That's my fault?! That's real nice." Logan said shaking his head before walking back out the door.

"Logan, I didn't mean…" she started to say before Logan cut her off.

"Forget it, Rory."


	12. Grow Up

A week had slowly passed by since Logan and Rory had fought about her date. During that time she'd gone out with Carter again on a lunch date. While Carter was a really nice guy, Rory wasn't really sure if she had actually wanted to go out with him or if it was more about wanting to demonstrate to Logan that he couldn't control her life, but either way, she'd had a nice time and was already making plans to see him again.

Rory was frustrated and angry. She was annoyed that Logan had appeared to have gone AWOL. Of course, she also felt very bad about what she said and she knew that it was completely out of line. He'd just kind of taken her by surprise showing up like that. Rory had called and messaged him several times but it was to no avail. He never picked up the phone or responded to any messages. Short of driving over to the Huntzberger's house to confront him she didn't really know what she should do next - and she really didn't want to do that if it could be avoided.

Rory decided that she would call him one last time today. She groaned when she heard his voicemail kick in yet again and steeled herself for leaving him another message that he was bound to ignore.

"Logan. I know you are angry with me but this is ridiculous. This is the absolute last time I am calling you so you had better listen and listen good. I screwed up, I know that. I should never have said what I said but your just disappearing off the face of the earth, it is not acceptable. Not now, not ever. I thought I made it clear Logan. I am not interested in a part-time father for Lily. You're either in or you're out. There's no in between. If you're in, you're all in."

Rory ended the call and slammed the phone down on the counter.

* * *

After waiting around all afternoon to see if Logan might call back after receiving Rory's angry message, she decided to get out of the house for a bit so she grabbed Lily and headed to Stars Hollow to see her mom.

She pulled up outside her old house, unclipped Lily out of the car and walked into the house. The house was in silence yet she knew that her mom was there somewhere as her jeep was sitting outside in its usual spot.

"Mom?" she called out.

"Hey Rory, I'm in the kitchen, come in here I'm just…"

"Stop right there lady because if that sentence ends in any kind of insinuation that you are cooking I am walking straight back out that door…" Rory said as she walked into the kitchen to find Lorelai sitting at the table eating.

"Ice-cream?" Lorelai said holding out the tub "Grab a spoon kid!"

Rory smiled and went and got herself a spoon. She sat down next to Lorelai at the table with Lily on her lap.

"Here, give me my grandbaby," Lorelai said arms outstretched "Aww Lily I've missed you. What's up Ror? Still not heard from Logan?"

"Yes and I am so mad at him right now," Rory said pursing her lips.

"What happened between you two anyhow? You never did say, only that 'words' had been had" Lorelai said wiggling her eyebrows at her daughter.

"Ugh, it's all your fault!" Rory exclaimed.

Lorelai looked puzzled. "Err, my fault? How so?!"

"I bumped into Logan, and his entire family, when I was on the date with Carter. He freaked out about it. We had a fight. I I've not seen or heard from his since. The end"

Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Awkward, but I don't see how it's my fault?"

"It was your idea for me to go on a stupid date!" Rory rolled her eyes and mimicked her mother "Oh go on a date Rory, it's just what you need Rory, it will take the edge off Rory"

"Why did you fight about it?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, I don't know really. It all just got a bit awkward. Then Logan came around afterwards and started insisting that I should have told him and…" Rory trailed off and bit her lip.

"And…" Lorelai questioned knowing that there was clearly something significant to come.

"And well, I may or may not have said something that I shouldn't have" Rory wrinkled her nose. Lorelai was looking at her expectantly. "I made some throwaway comment about him only being in Lily's life for five minutes…."

"Rory…." Lorelai sighed and closed her eyes.

"It was in the heat of the moment!" She threw her arms up in the air. "And now he won't talk to me at all."

"Well, are you surprised? Jeez, Rory" Logan wasn't always top of Lorelai's Christmas card list, he'd done some pretty shitty things in the past but even she was well aware that Rory had been a bit harsh.

"Okay, I'm a bitch, I don't want to talk about it anymore". Rory said getting annoyed.

"But…." Lorelai tried to interject.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

They continued to eat their ice-cream over polite chit-chat and some idle gossip before moving into the living room where Lorelai and Rory sat and watched a movie with Lily. When the movie had ended, Rory decided it was time to get Lily home. She'd hope that maybe Logan would have called after receiving her last angry message but she had checked her cell phone incessantly through the afternoon and there had been no calls or text messages.

Lorelai stood on the porch and waved them off. As she watched Rory's car leave she couldn't help but think how much of herself she saw reflected in her daughter. Rory was undoubtedly stubborn at times – definitely something she had inherited from the Gilmores. Lorelai sighed as she walked back into the house and sat on the sofa. She'd always wanted more for her daughter than she'd had – whether that had been the college education she'd missed out or the opportunity to travel around the world or chase a fantastic career. Not all of that had worked out for Rory yet as fate had dealt a different hand, however, nothing had changed – Lorelai still wanted more for Rory and now Lily. She knew that Rory had a great childhood and they loved their time together, she wouldn't change a thing but Lorelai also knew just how lonely and difficult life as a single parent could be. She knew that Logan and Rory cared for each other, she just wished they could each deal with their issues so they could move on and hopefully rebuild a relationship.

* * *

Rory walked towards the pool house, juggling an increasingly wiggly Lily in one arm and her bags in the other. As she was walking down the path, she accidentally dropped her keys on the floor. She carefully crouched down, trying to balance herself and prevent herself landing in a messy heap on the floor as she retrieved them from the gravel. As she stood back up and righted herself she noticed someone sitting outside the pool house.

"Logan!" Rory said in surprise.

Logan looked up at Rory and their daughter. "I'm in," he said quietly "Of course I am in."

Rory sighed and smiled tentatively. "Do you want to come in?"

Logan followed Rory inside.

"I'm just going to go and put Lily into bed, it's been a long day and she's completely overtired. If I don't get her in now, I never will. Do you want to fix us some drinks?"

Logan nodded and watched Rory disappear into the bedroom. He'd picked up her message as soon as she had sent it that afternoon. He hadn't purposely been avoiding her all week, he'd been in and out of New York at meetings with HPG for the most part but he had neglected to respond to her texts and calls. Logan knew it was petty but he was stewing over what she had said to him and just hadn't been in the mood for arguing with Rory during what was a busy and stressful working week. He fixed them some drinks and sat on the sofa waiting for Rory.

Once she had put Lily down to sleep, Rory came out of the bedroom and sat down next to Logan on the sofa. For a moment neither of them said anything. Rory picked up her drink, took a sip and turned to Logan.

"Logan, I think we really need to talk." She looked at Logan and he nodded slightly. "I know you've been really angry with me this week and you have every right to be. I am really sorry that I said that to you."

"It's fine," Logan said without looking up at her.

"No, it's not fine. It was hurtful and cruel and I honestly don't know that I was thinking. Except maybe I wasn't thinking. I'm mad at myself for that. I promise I will never say anything like that again."

Logan smiled up at her "Thanks" he said before adding "And I'm sorry I went off-grid. It was just a stupid knee jerk reaction. I was just angry. And I totally overreacted to the whole dating thing, I mean I'm still not comfortable with it but…"

"Yeah, about that" Rory put her drink down. "Logan, if we're going to do this co-parenting thing, successfully, I think we're going to have to accept that other people are going to come in and our of life. That is unless you are planning on becoming a Buddhist monk and I honestly wouldn't recommend it because I really don't think you could pull off the sandals."

"And there I was thinking it was because orange isn't my colour" Logan smirked. "I know, I know. You're right – but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"No, you don't have to like it, but it does mean that you have to keep your opinions to yourself, mister. I don't plan on spending the rest of my days as a bitter old spinster. I'm going to go on dates. You're going to go on dates." She said matter of factly.

"Unless we date each other, that would solve a problem" He raised his eyebrows.

Rory laughed and shook her head "Logan, that would cause more problems than it would solve, I think we both know that."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Logan smiled. They still hadn't discussed their almost-kiss. Logan had planned to talk to Rory about it but then he had bumped into her on her date with Carter and the moment seemed to pass them by. He couldn't help feeling a little sad about it.

"Hey, you want to watch a movie?" Rory asked, trying to move the conversation along.

Logan looked at his watch "It's getting late Rory. I'd better get going, I've got to go to New York in the morning…"

"Oh…okay," Rory said slightly disappointed. It wasn't really that late. She couldn't help thinking that Logan was making excuses to get out of there but she certainly wasn't going to force him to stay.

* * *

A little later that evening Rory was relaxing in front of Breakfast at Tiffany's when her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen before she answered. For some reason, she half-expected it to be Logan but she saw that it was Carter calling instead.

"Hey" she answered the phone and settled back onto the sofa.

"So I was wondering if you were free on Saturday night?" Carter asked mysteriously.

"Yeah, I'm free…what are you thinking?" Rory said casually.

"Well I have tickets to a show in Manhattan and I was wondering if you'd like to come with. It would mean a hotel stay so I guess it would depend if you were able to get an overnight sitter or not…"

Rory pursed her lips. An overnight stay was probably pushing it a little further than she would have liked right now. That opened a whole new can of worms and she wasn't sure that after only two dates she was quite ready for weekends away, but on the other hand, she was young, free and single, so why not?

"Sure, I'm sure I can sort it. Sounds great Carter." She smiled.

"Great, if you can get away early on Saturday we could make a weekend of it?" Carter said sounding hopeful.

"I'll see what I can do" she smiled as she put the phone down.

* * *

"Logan, are you busy this weekend?" Rory had toyed with her cell phone before finally making the call.

"You propositioning me Ace?" Logan asked with a smirk.

"In your dreams Huntzberger! Well actually, I do kind of have a proposition for you…" Rory trailed off.

"I'm listening…"

Rory was just about to launch into it but paused. "Before I say this next thing you are not allowed to pass judgement or make a silly comment or get annoyed or anything. Okay, promise?"

"I promise" Logan laughed. He had felt a lot better since seeing Rory earlier that day and clearing the air. They'd said their apologies and while they hadn't both laid out all their issues, it was nice to be at least on speaking terms again.

"So Carter has invited me out on Saturday but we're going to New York City and we're going to need to stay over. In fact, we were hoping to make a weekend of it…"

There was silence.

"….so I was wondering if maybe you'd like to stay here at the pool house and look after Lily for me." Rory rattled out the sentence as quick as possible.

"Hang on a minute, you're asking me if I can babysit our daughter this weekend so you can basically just disappear off for a weekend of hot sex with your boyfriend?"

"Firstly, it's not babysitting when it's your own child. Secondly, he's not my boyfriend, it's just a date and thirdly, there will be no hot sex Logan"

"Hey Ace, sex with you is always hot," Logan said seductively down the phone.

Rory had never been gladder that she was on the phone and Logan couldn't see her blushing. "Logan!"

"You know I am right!" he laughed.

She shook her head "There will be no sex." She said firmly.

"He's booking you into a hotel room and you don't think he's expecting you to put out? Come on, I know you're not that naive…"

Rory contemplated what Logan was saying. She hadn't actually thought about that aspect. Would Carter really be thinking about them taking their relationship to the next level this weekend? She hadn't really considered that but now Logan had put that thought in her head. Was she ready to take that next step?

"Rory, I am kidding! Relax! Go, have fun. I'll take care of Lily. Just let me know what time you want me to get there for."

"Thanks, Logan" Rory said with a degree of uncertainty.

Rory ended the call and immediately called her mom. "Mom! I think I am going to have to have to sex this weekend."

"Now Rory, I told you, just say no. You don't have to give into peer pressure…"

"Mom, I am serious, I am freaking out. Carter is taking me to New York for the weekend, we're staying in a hotel. Logan is going to look after Lily and he said that Carter will be expecting sex."

"Logan who freaked out about you going on a date has agreed to look after your daughter while you go on a dirty weekend? Well, I never!"

"It's not a dirty weekend…God, you are as bad as him!"

"Well he's probably not wrong but kid, I mean, I doubt Carter is packing the travel Scrabble in his bag if you know what I mean," Lorelai said with a hint of sarcasm.

Rory groaned "I just don't think that's somewhere I want to go right now…it's been a really long time since I, you know…"

"So don't do it." Lorelai shrugged.

"You think? You don't think he'll be offended?"

"If he is, so what? Rory, you make the decisions, you say who, you say when. If you're not ready, you're not ready and if he's a decent guy, he'll understand that." Lorelai reasoned.

Rory smiled. It was just what she needed to hear. "Right. Thanks, mom. I've never been away with anyone other than Logan. I'm just stressing over nothing. I'll speak to you later."

"I'm sure you are. Oh and Rory?" Lorelai said quickly before her daughter ended the call.

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to shave!"

Rory rolled her eyes and laid her back on the sofa. What had she got herself into!


	13. Temporary

"Rory, for the hundredth time, I think I've got everything"

"Okay. Sorry, Logan" She looked at him sympathetically "I know you are capable, it's just I've never really left Lily with anyone other than mom before, I'm a bit anxious about it."

"Well don't be, how hard can it be? I mean you've managed to keep her alive for this long…" he joked and Rory playfully slapped his arm. "Besides, I've got Honor nearby and your mom on speed dial. I think we've got it covered haven't we Lily?"

Rory looked at Logan holding Lily in his arms. She didn't really know what she was stressing about. He'd become so comfortable with her recently. This was a big step for them, apart from her anxieties about leaving her daughter behind she was glad that Logan was getting this chance. Rory felt really quite good about the progress that was being made in the whole co-parenting thing.

"Right. Good. I know. Okay, I am leaving." She said firmly. "Bye Lily," she said kissing her daughter "Be good for daddy. Bye Logan, just…be good" she said warningly.

"Bye mommy," Logan said waving Lily's arm up and down "Hey Ace?" he shouted as Rory walked away. Rory turned around to look at him. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do…."

* * *

Logan closed the door of the pool house and placed Lily in her playpen while he went to make a coffee for himself. He'd put a brave face on it for the sake of his relationship with Rory but he wasn't at all thrilled about her heading off for a weekend away a date. The last thing he really wanted to be doing was encouraging a relationship with Carter but Rory had been quite clear in telling him it wasn't any of his business. While he was happy this gave him the opportunity to devote some time to his daughter, he was also nervous about the amount of time they would spending alone together – they'd never spent more than a few hours before. Sipping on his coffee he decided to invite Honor over for lunch so he picked up his cell phone and gave her call. A little while later Honor arrived with Fifi in her arms.

"Well look at you little brother, playing house" she laughed when Logan opened the door.

"Hi Honor, hey Fifi" Logan smiled at the little girl in his sister's arms.

"Where is that adorable niece of mine?" Honor asked.

"She's right over there on the rug, I'm sure she'd love Fifi to play with".

Honor walked over to the rug and placed Fifi down next to the beautiful blonde haired girl who was looking at up with her wide blue eyes. "Hey Lily, I'm your Auntie Honor, do you remember me?" Lily rewarded Honor with a shy smile.

Logan sat on the sofa next to the rug and Honor joined him.

"So how's it going so far?"

"Well, Rory has only been gone a few house…so far I think I am crushing it" Logan said with a smirk.

Honor rolled her eyes "I meant with the whole parenting thing, not just today"

"Oh…yeah, it's going okay I think. Lily seems to like me so that's something"

"And what about Rory?" Honor asked carefully.

Logan turned to his sister with a puzzled look. "What about Rory?"

"You both seemed a little awkward when we bumped into her last week, are you getting on okay?"

"Yeah, well it was a bit weird seeing her on a date, just took me by surprise is all," Logan said.

"And she's with him this weekend. You're okay with that?" Honor raised her eyebrow.

Logan shrugged "It's none of my business what Rory does with her spare time, we're not together. She can date who she likes."

"Hmmm," Honor said, shaking her head at her brother.

Honor stayed for another hour before she said she had to get back. Logan walked over to the door to say goodbye with Lily resting on his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming Honor"

"Sure anytime" she smiled. "You know Logan, I don't want this to sound really patronizing but I am really proud of you. I know this must have all been a terrible shock but you've really stepped up to the plate. Not everyone would do that you know."

Logan smiled and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye. He headed back inside and put a tired and soon-to-be cranky Lily down in her bed for an afternoon nap.

* * *

"Yoohoo, anyone in?" Lorelai poked her head around the door of the pool house to find Logan relaxing, reading a book.

He looked up at her. "Seriously Lorelai, did Rory send you to check up on me?" he asked shaking his head as he stood up.

"No! Of course not. Maybe a little bit" she wrinkled her nose. "So how are you getting on Daddy?"

"Everything is fine, Lily is just sleeping. You want a coffee?" Logan said gesturing at the coffee machine.

"Erm…have we met?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

Logan handed Lorelai a coffee as she took a seat at the breakfast bar.

"So Logan, truthfully, how are you finding parenthood?" she asked taking a sip of her coffee. "Mmm that's good" she murmured to herself.

"Well, it's interesting that's for sure" Logan laughed.

"Sure is. It's nice of you to step in this weekend." Lorelai said. She tried to sound casual about it but she was really intending to poke Logan on the subject.

Logan shrugged his shoulders. "It's not big deal. Rory asked if I could and if we're going to be serious about this co-parenting thing…"

"Yeah but stepping in while she goes away with a date for a weekend? That's quite a big ask." Lorelai raised her eyebrows before she continued. "Okay Logan, I've got, to be honest with you, I think this dating Carter thing is partly my fault."

"Your fault? How?" Logan asked slightly confused.

"A few weeks ago, she called me all discombobulated about your almost-kiss" Lorelai air-quoted.

"She told you about that?" Logan shifted uncomfortably "She's never mentioned it."

"Have you?" Lorelai said accusingly "I thought not" she smiled. "She was a bit worked up about it but she was so adamant that you two just couldn't possibly go there, and clearly she's missing something in her life, I think she's been lonely…so I suggested that maybe a little date might just take the edge off…" she grimaced at Logan. "Sorry," she said taking a sip of her coffee. "In my defense, I didn't actually think they'd get along as well as they do, in fact, I didn't think they'd get along at all! My mothers' romantic suggestions for Rory are so normally way off the mark…"

Logan smiled. "Don't worry about it Lorelai. There's absolutely nothing happening between Rory and myself, and I don't think there ever will be. She's made it pretty clear that she thinks that would be a big mistake."

"And you believe that?" Lorelai laughed.

"You don't?"

Lorelai sighed. "Logan. I know my daughter."

"Yeah, you do" he agreed "So what do you suggest?"

"Talk to her. Do you love her?" Lorelai asked. She knew it was a very personal question given the history between Logan and Rory but the time for beating around the bush had passed.

"I don't know" he answered honestly. "I mean I did, I've really missed her, there's nobody else like her. When I came back to Hartford and saw her again I definitely had hopes that maybe we could start over but…"

"…but she hurt you," Lorelai said sadly.

"Yeah. I'm trying to get over it and move on, I really want to, but…you can't really just forget something like that." Logan said looking down at his coffee cup.

"I know, believe me, I know, and I'm not going to sit here and defend my daughter, however much I love her. She was wrong, so wrong but she's trying to make amends Logan and she really cares about you. That won't ever change. You're the father of her child. Take it from someone who has been there – you two will be intrinsically linked for the rest of your lives. If you think that you could make it work together – then do it before it's too late." Lorelai said passionately.

Logan looked at her. "It didn't work for you and Christopher though did it."

"No" she admitted "It didn't work for us, but Rory is not me and you're not Chris. It was too late for us – too much stuff had gone down by the point that we seriously thought about getting together, I mean Rory was an adult by the time we decided to get married and by that point, I'd already fallen in love with someone else. It's not too late for you guys."

"Lorelai, you never really approved of me, and I know that. Hell, I did enough to earn that disapproval why would you want me and Rory to be together?" Logan asked sincerely.

"Whether I approve of you, is not the issue here. Rory loves you, I know she does. She's never stopped. And whether you feel it or not right now, I know that deep down you love Rory too, or at the very least you could love her again. I'm not telling you what to do, all I am saying is that I think, whether I like or not, you two have something. I don't want you to miss that opportunity because I think you'll both live to regret it."

After Lorelai left, Logan sat in the pool house thinking about the things that she had said to him. He felt torn. Lorelai was sure that Rory loved him and would want to be with him but he didn't want to put himself in a position where he was shot down again, it just hurt too much. Lorelai had really made him question his feelings – he knew deep down that he was still in love with Rory, he just wasn't ready to admit it to himself or anyone else quite yet.

* * *

They say time flies when you're having fun and before he knew it, it was almost time for Rory to get back from her weekend with Carter. Logan had really enjoyed spending the weekend with Lily. Sure, it was far more exhausting than he could ever have imagined, and he had a lot more respect for Rory now, but it was also a whole lot more rewarding than he had thought it would be. He relished being the person that Lily wanted to play with, the person she wanted to snuggle on when she was tired and the first person to elicit a smile from her when she woke up. For the first time since he'd known about Lily, he felt like a proper parent. After a long day, he'd finally bathed Lily and got her settled into bed and was now laid out on the sofa waiting for Rory to arrive back from New York.

Rory slowly opened the door to the pool house expecting to find complete chaos. She peeked around the door with one eye open bracing herself for the worst. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised at finding a tidy peaceful house and Logan asleep on the sofa. She dropped her bag on the floor and he jumped up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you over there Sleeping Beauty" she laughed.

"No worries never intended to fall asleep. What time is it?" Logan said a bit dazed.

"Erm, 8.30pm," Rory said looking at her watch. "Sorry, we're back a bit later than intended. Traffic" she rolled her eyes.

"You have a good time?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, sure" Rory nodded "I had a good time."

"Not too much of a good time I hope," Logan said with a wink.

"Logan!"

The truth was that Rory did have a good time on her weekend away with Carter but well; it wasn't quite what she expected. He was an utter gentleman and when they arrived at the hotel he had told her that he had booked two rooms, not wanting to presume anything about the status of their relationship. Rory knew that Carter was probably hoping that she would choose to stay with him but the fact that inside she was breathing a huge sigh of relief that they wouldn't be sharing was enough for Rory to know that right now, sleeping with Carter would be a mistake.

They had a great weekend, the show they went to see, an off-Broadway play that one of his friends was directing, was good fun and they'd had a good two days pretending to be tourists. They went for a lovely dinner and drinks, followed by some dancing and on Sunday morning had enjoyed a long leisurely brunch together. In every sense of the word, it had been a great weekend but as much as she liked Carter, she really couldn't see it going any further than friends.

"How was everything here? Looks like you had it all under control" Rory said looking around the pool house.

"We sure did. We had a great time. Honor came over with Fifi yesterday morning for a bit and then your mom spontaneously came over yesterday afternoon…"

"Oh really?" Rory said nonchalantly.

"Oh, really my ass!" Logan laughed "You sent her to check up on me!"

"No, I didn't" Rory protested "Well, not check up on you, just see if you needed any help that's all…"

"Thanks for that! Anyhow, I guess I had better get going" Logan said starting to collect up this stuff.

"Okay. Unless…do you want to stay and watch a movie or something?"

Logan paused for a moment. "Sure, why not"

* * *

The next morning Rory woke up all of a sudden. She opened her eyes slowly, feeling a bit disorientated. It took her a few moments to realise that she had woken up on the sofa and the noise that had disturbed her so suddenly was her daughter crying. It took a little longer for her to register that she was, in fact, lying with her head positioned on Logan's chest. The sound of Lily demanding attention was enough to also wake Logan from his peaceful sleep.

"Morning" Rory said looking up at Logan slightly embarrassed.

"Morning" Logan said stretching "I've got to say, as comfy as your sofa is, I've had more comfortable nights."

"I'm sorry Logan…I feel a bit awkward, I don't even know when I fell asleep". Rory said.

Logan yawned. "About 20 minutes into the movie"

"What? You should have woke me! Then you could have gone home."

"You looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to move you, so I carried on watching the film and I guess I must have drifted off too…" Logan smiled.

"I better go get…" Rory gestured towards her room where Lily was getting more impatient. "Do you have to go or do you want to stay for some breakfast?"

"Oh I'd better get going, I'm actually meant to be in the office this morning. Don't want everyone to think the CEO is slacking off so soon into the job."

"Right, of course" Rory nodded.

Logan followed Rory into the bedroom to say a quick goodbye to Lily before he left the pool house to head home.

"Hey kid, how was your dirty weekend away?" Lorelai asked.

"Thankfully, not so dirty. Carter booked us separate rooms" Rory said, a hint of relief in her voice

"So you didn't…?"

"No, we didn't…" Rory rolled her eyes at her mom.

"but you had a good weekend."

Rory paused before answering. "I did"

"Uh-oh. He's toast right." Lorelai knew that tone in Rory's voice only too well.

"Totally. It was a really nice weekend and he's a great guy but there's nothing there you know. I don't feel anything for him."

"So you're cutting him loose," Lorelai said firmly.

"I'm cutting him loose" Rory agreed.

"So now perhaps you can tell Logan how you feel," Lorelai said cheekily.

Rory gasped. "What? No!"

"Oh come on Rory. You can keep kidding yourself all you like but I know you have feelings for him."

"It doesn't matter if I do, I'm not going down that road." Rory shook her head even though her mom couldn't see.

Lorelai gave up on the subject for now and they continued to talk about her weekend. After the conversation came to a close, Rory put the phone down and thought about what her mom said.

Was it that obvious that she still had some festering feelings for Logan? And more importantly, did he know?


	14. Looking Up

"The door is open, just come right on in" Rory shouted from the bedroom when she heard a knock at the door. Rory was was busy packing an overnight bag for Lily. Logan had asked if he could take her to stay at his parent's house for the night and now she was busy trying to sort out everything she might need, and then some. "I'm in the bedroom."

"Now there's an invitation…" Logan shouted as he walked into the bedroom to find Rory surrounded by piles of stuff.

Rory looked up at Logan and threw a stuffed toy at him. "If I'm not allowed to work blue, neither are you Huntzberger"

Logan laughed. "Erm, Rory, you do realise she's just coming to stay for just one night don't you?"

Rory stood back and assessed the piles of baby gear in front of her. "Am I packing too much?" she wrinkled her nose "It's just she's never slept over anywhere other than here and my moms. I just wanted to make sure that she had everything she needed."

"And more?" Logan smirked.

"You just wait Huntzberger, she's been good for you so far but one day you'll find out just how messy babies can get and then you'll be grateful I packed three sleepsuits! Oh did you remember to pick up a travel cot?" Rory asked.

"I did" Logan nodded "It's all assembled and ready and waiting."

"Great. Well, I guess that's all you need" Rory said handing over the bag.

"Apart from the lady herself?" Logan asked.

"Oh right, yes, duh," Rory said slapping her forehead. "She's in her playpen in the living room," she said as she followed Logan out of the bedroom.

"So, what are you doing with your night of freedom?" Logan asked Rory. He slowly took in her appearance, she was dressed rather casually in her old Yale sweats and her hair was piled up high on top of her head in a messy bun. Logan always loved this version of Rory – the relaxed, dressed-down style. "Hot date?"

"Because this is how I always dress when I am going on a hot date?" Rory rolled her eyes. "No, I have much more exciting plans for Friday night that involve me, a giant pizza and the remote control"

Logan looked at her surprised "I thought you'd take the opportunity of a night off to go out with whatshisname."

"Carter, you know what his name is Logan. And no, that's done."

Logan looked at Rory and raised his eyebrow. "Done?"

"Yeah, it wasn't really working out for me…" Rory trailed off, not sure it was a topic she wanted to discuss with Logan.

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"No, you're not" Rory laughed.

"Well, okay maybe I'm not sorry but…you seemed to like him," Logan said kindly.

"Ah, he was a nice enough guy but there was something missing you know?" Rory chewed her lip.

"No spark." They both said at the same time and smiled.

"Jinx," Rory said and laughed. "Exactly. I didn't really want to lead him on when I knew it was not going to go anywhere other than the friend zone. Hence…" she gestured down at her outfit "my Friday night attire"

"You could always come with us if you're at a loose end?" Logan said quickly, before wondering what on earth he was thinking. Of course, she was not going to want to go with him to the Huntzbergers, he barely wanted to be there himself.

"No! It's fine, I don't need a pity date Logan. You get going" she said ushering them out the door.

"It's not pity, or a date" Logan shook his head.

"It's fine, off you go, have fun. Give me a call if you need anything okay?" she said giving Lily one last squeeze.

"Okay, see you tomorrow Rory," Logan said before leaning in a giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

Rory closed the door behind them and touched her cheek where Logan had just kissed her. It was such an innocent kiss between friends but she felt like her skin was burning from his touch. Do not read too much into this, Rory Gilmore! She thought to herself and she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.

Logan walked away from the house towards his car wondering what on earth had possessed him to kiss her like that. Sure, it was a friendly kiss, certainly no romantic intentions could be implied or taken from that sort of kiss but it felt like a step towards something – he didn't really know what, but it definitely felt outside the territory that they were currently in.

* * *

Logan arrived back at the Huntzberger mansion. He was just opening the door when Shira rushed to greet Lily.

"Here Logan, let me take her," Shira said, arms outstretched.

Logan smiled as he handed over his daughter. Despite never having been a big fan of Rory, Shira had warmed quickly to Lily. She had already spoilt the little girl rotten and she had her own extremely well-stocked wardrobe of clothes and toys in situ at their house. Logan hadn't the heart to tell Rory this when she was busy packing up piles of clothes for him to take with him as he wasn't sure how she would feel about it.

"Oh Logan, you're here. Can you come into my study for a minute there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Dad, can it wait, I've got Lily and…."

"It's fine Logan" his mother interrupted "me and Lily are fire, aren't we sweetie!" she smiling at Lily "you boys go discuss business or whatever it is you need to talk about. The girls are going to go and catch up, aren't we? Yes, we are!" Shira said tickling her granddaughter under the chin.

Logan sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. He never had a great feeling about being summoned to his father's study. It had been the scene of many a volatile dressing down.

"Come in, sit down Logan. No need to look so nervous"

"What is this about Dad?"

"We have set Lily up with a trust fund"

"What?" Logan looked at his father taken aback. "You didn't have to do that".

Logan wasn't sure what Rory would think of this news – despite them both being trust fund kids themselves. He was well aware that Rory had been brought up outside of that environment when Lorelai had decided it wasn't the life she wanted but Rory had slipped back easily into society life once she had got to Chilton and then Yale. He really wasn't sure where she would stand on the subject.

"No Logan, we didn't have to do that but she's our granddaughter. She's a Huntzberger!"

Logan smiled. He had been amazed at just how pleased his parents had been when he had told them Lily wasn't actually a Gilmore as they had presumed and that she officially carried with Huntzberger name. He had been overjoyed himself – he was surprised how much it had meant to him that his daughter had his name. Logan never really knew why Rory had chosen Huntzberger over Gilmore but he had wondered if she'd known that it would probably go some way towards Lily gaining his parents acceptance in the future.

"All the paperwork is done, it's just going to need yourself and Rory to sign it to finalise it all"

"Okay," Logan nodded. "That's really generous of you Dad".

Mitchum shrugged "Lily will get exactly what Ophelia does, I don't see why it should be any different, and of course the same will apply if you and Rory should have any further children" he smiled.

Logan had never thought that his parents would treat Lily with the same love and affection as they did Honor's daughter and it made him really happy that after the initial shock of discovering they had another granddaughter they didn't know about, they had welcomed her in with open arms.

He walked out of his Mitchum's study and back into the living room where he was pleasantly surprised to find that Honor had arrived with Fifi.

"Well look what the cat dragged in!"

"So nice to see you too my dear brother" Honor rolled her eyes and laughed. "Josh has taken himself away playing golf this weekend and mom said that you had a little visitor so I couldn't resist bringing Fifi over for a play with her cousin. I think they're going to be great friends. Just think! They can go to school together…and maybe one day they'll even go to college together."

"I think you're getting a bit ahead of yourself Honor." School, college…it all seemed like such a long way off. Logan found it hard to look too far into the future. He and Rory weren't together and to try and predict what might happen in the future was just something he didn't like to think about. He was only just getting to know his daughter but it worried him that Rory would definitely want to pick up with the career aspirations one day and that might result in her taking Lily away. It was far easier to push all thoughts of the future far to the back of his mind and focus on each day as it came.

"We thought we'd go for a swim in the indoor pool," Honor said "Are you going to join us?" she asked.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I don't think Rory will have packed a swimming costume and I'm not sure if mom's expensive shopping habit extends to swimwear…" he joked.

"Don't worry about that, I have spares with me. I have spare swim nappies too." Honor said picking up her bag.

Logan looked confused "Swim nappies? What on earth… "

"Ah, you have so much to learn Logan. Come on!" Honor laughed as they walked off to the pool.

* * *

"Knock knock, anyone in?"

"My baby is home!" Rory squealed as she walked out of the bedroom.

"Well, you've not called me that in a while, but okay, I'll take it" Logan smirked.

"How was she?" Rory asked eagerly.

Lily was generally very well behaved and amenable but Rory had been a little on edge as she really wanted everything to go well at the Huntzbergers. It was strange how all of a sudden it had become really important to her that they thought well of her but she knew it came down to the deep-rooted issues she had about her own father's family reluctance to accept her. Rory had always taken it for what it was and while hurtful at times, it never overly bothered her, she'd always been surrounded by love but now she found herself in a similar situation she just couldn't understand how or why any grandparent could take out their resentment on an innocent child. She'd thought a lot of things about the Huntzbergers over the past few days, the majority of which weren't very flattering but she had been pleasantly surprised with how they were responding to her daughter.

Logan smiled "She was a complete angel"

"Aww mommy is very proud of you," Rory said as she took Lily from Logan and gave her a big squeeze. "And mommy missed you a lot!"

"Honor came over with Fifi so we had a nice time playing together and we even got in the pool didn't we Lily."

"Wow, sounds like someone had lots of fun….and I don't mean Lily" Rory winked.

"It was a lot of fun." Logan agreed "How was your evening?"

Rory bit her lip. After Logan had left with Lily she hadn't really done much more than obsessively overthink the kiss on the cheek.

"It was fine, just a quiet one, I had an early night." She smiled.

"Before I go, can I talk to you for a minute?" Logan asked

"Sounds…ominous" Rory said sitting down.

"It's not really, but I'm not sure how you'll take this…" Logan said as he started to explain to Rory that his parents had set up a trust fund for Lily.

"Wow. Okay" Rory said, "So let me get this straight – Lily now has her own Huntzberger trust fund…"

"Yes, which she will get access to when she is twenty-five." Logan shook his head as he tried to comprehend ever having a daughter that old.

"I never thought my child would end up a trust fund kid…" Rory grimaced.

"But you're okay with it?" Logan asked gently.

"Yeah, I mean, my mom will freak out when she hears about it, you know what she's like but, yeah I'm okay with it. It's kind of nice in a way to know that your parents view her as part of your family." Rory smiled.

Logan nodded "Yeah, I have to admit, I thought the same. Dad said that she would be treated the same as Fifi. Oh and don't worry, our future children will get exactly the same" he smirked.

"Our future children?" Rory raised her eyebrows at Logan.

"Yes, well, of course, it only applies if they're mine and yours…"

Rory put her hand up "You can stop right there mister because I am not doing that again. I've done the childbirth thing, ticked it off my bucket list and now I am moving on. Believe me, once was enough."

Logan smiled. He still felt a little uncomfortable that he had missed out on the birth but it secretly felt pleased that Rory's concern was specifically childbirth and not them having more children together…

"Anyway, we just need to sign some paperwork but we can do that in the next few weeks."

"Okay," Rory nodded.

It was kind of weird for her to know that Lily had been so accepted into the Huntzberger family. Honor had said that they'd mellowed a bit but she hadn't quite believed her. She was still kind of waiting for that sucker punch to hit at some point.

Logan stood up "Right I had better get going"

"Before you do Logan, there was something I wanted to talk to you about too"

"Oh?" He said sitting back down.

"As you know, Lily's first birthday is coming up and well, I wanted to plan to have a bit of a party for her here. Sookie wants to make the cake and I'm sure grandma will take control of the caterers, that's her domain after all, but I just wanted to make sure you were fully involved but I also don't want you to feel awkward about it so I just wanted to check with you first and make sure…" Rory rambled.

"Why would I feel awkward?" Logan looked at Rory.

"Well it's just that it's going to be the first time that anyone will really see us together in public, and I know we're not together together, but you know what I mean" she wrinkled her nose.

"It's fine Rory. Of course, I want to be involved, I wouldn't miss it for the world" Logan smiled "Who cares what anyone else thinks"

"Great, well we're going to do it here and of course you should invite your family and anyone else you want to come along…"

"I'm looking forward to it already" Logan smiled as he got up to leave. "Though this time last year, if you'd told me that in twelve months time, I would be planning a birthday party for my one-year-old daughter I'd have never believed you." He said as he walked out the door.

Rory thought back to how she felt a year ago. "No, I don't think I would have believed it either," she said quietly.


	15. Still Into You

"Where is that birthday girl?" Logan shouted as he came through the doors of the pool house.

They had been planning this first birthday party for the past few weeks and now the day was finally here.

"Logan! What have you bought! Did you actually leave anything in the shop? Oh man, my baby is going to be completely spoilt." Rory stood open-mouthed at the mound of presents Logan had brought into the pool house. "You realise I have to live here too and have zero space! Where do you think I am going to put all this?"

"Don't worry, we'll sort it out. Anyhow, I think I am allowed to spoil my daughter on her birthday, don't you? You're only one once, right Lily?" he said leaning in to kiss his daughter who was looking like the proper star of the party in her baby blue party gown. The colour worked with her eyes perfectly.

"You look nice," Logan said looking Rory up and down. She was wearing a deep blue satin cocktail dress that stopped mid-thigh. It was shorter than she normally wore but suited her perfectly. "In fact, that's one show-stopping dress, bit unfair to try and steal Lily's thunder though Ace"

"Well, you know, I thought I'd make an effort seeing as everyone will be no doubt be staring at us all day." She rolled her eyes. She knew full well that every tiny move would be dissected today. If she even so much as talked to Logan the rumor mill would be in full flow so Rory had decided that if everyone would be looking at her, she had better make sure she looked nice. Though, if she was being honest, she had another agenda too and she'd wanted to make an extra effort for Logan so she was very happy that he had noticed.

"Grandma I don't know how you managed to pull this all off when you weren't even in the country, but thank you," Rory said to her grandma.

The party was in full swing and was so far a great success. Lily was on top form and she had so far avoided any awkward conversations.

"Ah the overbearing skills of Emily Gilmore, they can span oceans." Lorelai joked and Emily scowled at her daughter.

"I hope you're not too jetlagged and you can enjoy the party?" Rory asked with concern. "I know I should have timed it better with your return but I really wanted to do the party on her actual birthday and…"

"Rory, honestly, we're fine. Where is my great-granddaughter anyway?" asked Richard, scanning the room.

"She's somewhere around here with Logan," Rory said nervously.

"Logan Huntzberger?" Emily asked with an incredulous look.

"The one and only." Lorelai chirped in and smiled at Rory.

"He's back on the scene? Well, I never. Are you two…?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

"No we're not grandma, and please don't get any ideas!" Rory begged.

Emily really had done a fantastic job with the party, even though she had coordinated everything from Europe. She'd used her regular caterers for the food and brought in an events company to organise the theming that Rory had chosen – a whimsical woodland party, with a sophisticated color palette of gold, mint green, and blush pink. Sookie had made the most stunning cake. It was a two-tiered double chocolate fudge cake covered in white chocolate ganache, decorated beautifully to fit in the with the woodland theme.

"I think it's time for the birthday girl to blow out the candle," Rory said lighting the big number one candle that Sookie had carefully positioned in the middle of the cake. "Logan" she called "Can you bring Lily over?"

Logan walked over to where Rory was stood with the cake and handed over Lily to her. Everyone started up singing happy birthday and when they were finished Lorelai shouted "make a wish Lily" as Logan and Rory leaned in to help their little girl blow out her first birthday candle.

Rory had felt Logan gently place his hand on her lower back as they leaned in. It was a completely non-threatening move and done so naturally but once the candle was extinguished and people stopped taking photos she felt uncomfortable and quickly moved away.

"I'm just going to go get a knife to cut the cake up" she turned and said to Logan but darting off.

Lorelai followed her into the kitchen. "Everything seems to be going well?"

"The party?" Rory asked, "Yeah it does."

Lorelai smiled "That was a nice moment out there kid."

"What was?" Rory looked at her mother questioningly.

"The little family, blowing out the candle together"

"Mom…" Rory warned.

"Look," Lorelai said holding her digital camera up for Rory to see "I even captured it on film for posterity."

"You do know there is no actual film in that camera don't you…" Rory joked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. It's a nice photo right, a proper Kodak moment" she said raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say, mom," Rory said as she walked out of the kitchen. She stopped when she got to the door and poked her head back around the door. "Send me a copy?"

Lorelai smiled to herself and put the camera back in her pocket.

* * *

After the party had ended and everyone had gone home, worn out from the day, Rory had changed into a tank top and shorts and collapsed on the sofa in the pool house. Logan had volunteered to do the bath and bedtime routine so she took advantage of having someone else there for a change and relaxed.

Once Logan had Lily settled he sat down on the sofa, bringing with him two large pieces of birthday cake. He handed one to Rory who accepted it gratefully.

"You know, I think this is the first thing I have eaten all day." She said bringing the cake up to her mouth. "I am worn out. Who knew that one-year-old's birthday parties could be so exhausting?"

"Not me," Logan said laughing as he finished off his cake.

"This is a good cake," she said. "Ahh, my feet are in total agony. Heels were a mistake – however good they looked with that dress," she said bringing up her feet and placing them on Logan's lap.

"What you need is a good foot massage," he said firmly rubbing circles on her feet.

"Oh god, that feels too good," Rory said before they both realised the intimacy of the moment they were sharing and Rory sat up.

"I think I'll just go get a drink, do you want a drink?" Rory said standing up.

As she stood up she felt Logan grab her arm and pull her back down on the sofa and before she realised what was happening, she was completely lost in one of the most passionate kisses she'd experienced in a long time. It had all happened so quickly that Rory had no idea who had actually started it but after a few moments she relaxed into it and she opened her mouth and allowed it to deepen.

Rory pulled away. "What are we doing Logan," she said, searching his eyes for an answer.

Logan didn't reply, he knew deep down that in the cold light of day that they would probably regret what they were about to do but he knew that he didn't want to stop it from happening right now. Instead of telling her that it was a bad idea, he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her lips back to his. They kissed again, first it was light and gentle, but before long it developed into something more urgent, his tongue in her mouth, her hips pressing hard against his – their bodies sending an undeniable message to each other.

Rory felt like she just wanted to kiss Logan forever. She tried to block out thoughts of what this might or might not mean for them or what further mess they might be getting themselves into. All she could think about was she was with Logan and she needed and wanted to be with him.

Logan placed his hands on Rory's lower back slipping one hand down the back of her shorts. They broke away from each other once more and Logan looked at Rory "Are you sure this is what you want" he asked her before she nodded and they started kissing again. She was in a total daze and all she cared about was how good it felt to be kissing Logan. Her tongue fluttered against his and Logan pulled her against him, feeling like he'd never be able to get close enough to her. Rory raised up his shirt and slowly started to move her hands across his body.

"Rory are you really sure about this?" Logan asked, in between kisses as she nodded to signal her certainty. She pulled him into a kiss again and he slowly pushed up her tank top. All at once there was nothing else existing in Rory's universe other than Logan, kissing, touching and exploring every inch of her body. For the first time in a long time, she forgot about everything else. Rory gasped as Logan's mouth found her breasts, his tongue torturing them until she moaned in need.

She peeled off her top completely and pressed her chest against Logan's, slowly running her hand over his crotch. Rory unfastened his pants, and Logan's eyes widened as she slipped one hand inside, found what she was looking for and gave him a gentle squeeze. She carefully slipped his pants down his legs before taking him in her mouth. "Fuck, Rory…." He moaned, eyes shut, thinking about how unbelievably good it felt. When she gave a throaty moan, before rolling her mouth from base to tip, Logan thought he was going to lose his mind. He looked down at Rory before pulling her up so that they were face-to-face.

Logan returned his attention to her breasts, moving his lips slowly down her body. He tugged at her shorts and pulled them off before reaching down to remove her panties. Logan ran his fingers down Rory's thighs and back up again before sliding his hand between her legs. He nuzzled against her, his lips nibbling and kissing her neck where she had always been sensitive. "Oh" she sighed as he moved his fingers inside her and she lost herself, consumed by her own pleasure. Logan watched her as she squeezed her eyes shut and he felt her contract against his fingers.

Before she had the chance to recover, Logan rolled her onto her back.

"Wait. Do you have a condom" she whispered?

Logan nodded and reached over to his wallet. He ripped it open and rolled it on. Rory lay shivering with anticipation and finally, he slipped inside her. She gasped and shut her eyes. As he moved gently inside of her she slowly stroked down his spine in a way that she knew he used to like.

"This feels really good" she whispered in his ear and then with those simple words, Logan could hold back no longer. Rory moaned, her hands locked onto his shoulders. She arched and stretched beneath him, her movements sent him deeper, and she liked how it felt.

"Oh God, Rory," he gasped as she put her lips against his ear, whispering his name over and over sending him tumbling far over the edge.

* * *

Rory and Logan lay on the sofa for a few minutes, not speaking, each trying to comprehend what had just happened in their own way. In the aftermath, both felt a little bit awkward, regardless of the fact that it was something that they had both wanted for a while.

"I'm just going to…." Rory gestured towards the bedroom. She sat up suddenly feeling very self-conscious of her own nakedness and Logan passed her top.

"Thanks" she took it out of his hands, without making eye contact. She slipped it on to cover herself. She smiled nervously at Logan and walked into the bedroom. Rory quietly closed the door behind her so not as to disturb their sleeping daughter. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. What just happened she thought to herself.

Logan waited until Rory had gone into the bedroom before he started to get himself dressed. Being with Rory like that again after so long had been amazing – and quite unexpected. Sure, he had been the one to instigate the kiss but he had never anticipated it going as far as it did. It had almost felt like they had never been apart and while he was more than into it, he was now feeling utterly confused about his feelings. He wasn't sure what this was going to mean for them or what she would expect from him. Clearly, they were still hugely attracted to each other, that much was obvious but was that enough?

Although he was trying his hardest to move on, Logan was still feeling wounded about the fact that Rory kept her pregnancy from him. He wasn't sure that while he was still harboring some degree of resentment towards her it would be healthy grounds to start any form of relationship. And yet. It had felt so right and more often than not recently, he spent a lot of time thinking about her.

He was just getting his shoes on when Rory emerged smiling from the bedroom in her PJs and robe, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Seeing Logan putting his shoes on, the smile faded from her lips.

"Are you leaving?" she asked quietly.

Logan couldn't quite meet her eye when he replied. "Erm, yeah, I thought I best get going, it's getting late…"

Rory looked at him with slight confusion. "Or you could just stay here…if you wanted?"

"I think I'll go home, early start tomorrow" He was lying and Rory knew it.

"Oh okay." Rory said "I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired. You can let yourself out right?" she asked.

"Sure" he nodded and watched her walk back into her bedroom.

Logan picked up his coat and headed out into the night air and took a deep breath. He knew that he was acting like a total ass and that Rory would be hurt that he had left like that but he hadn't known what to say to her, and so the easiest option was for him to leave, just in case he said completely the wrong thing. He had to get out of there and try and work out what this meant for him. Logan didn't feel very good about himself as he headed home.

Rory got into her bed and pulled the covers up before putting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes. Logan had seemed oddly cold towards her when she had gone back out to talk to him and yet only minutes before that they had felt closer than they'd ever been. She was confused and upset and she couldn't help the few tears that slipped out.

She knew that what had happened that night in the pool house had been a big mistake.


	16. Tell Me It's Okay

The next morning Rory woke up to the sound of her daughter babbling in the crib at the end of her bed. She slowly opened her eyes and let them adjust to the light. As she remembered the events of the night before, Rory rolled back onto her pillow and groaned. She reached over to the side of her bed and picked up her cell phone.

"Hey kiddo!" the bright and breezy voice of her mom answered.

"I HAD SEX WITH LOGAN" Rory yelled.

"And now I have acute deafness." Lorelai said as she moved the phone away from her ear. "and as much as I truly want to believe that Lily came into this world via the absolute miracle that is immaculate conception, I'm going to have to say, I think it's a bit obvious to all and sundry that you had sex with Logan hun…"

"No. Last night. I had sex with Logan last night." Rory groaned.

"What! When, where, why!" Lorelai asked.

Rory sighed. "After the party, on the sofa in the pool house."

"And I am NEVER sitting on that sofa again." Lorelai shuddered.

"Mom, I am serious!" Rory said.

"So am I!" Lorelai joked.

"Well it's too late for that anyhow, you've sat there before and…" Rory trailed off.

"Ooh, dirty! Now I know why my mother always referred to it as your sex house. So, how was it…" Lorelai asked.

"It was…." Rory started before stopping, wondering just what words she could use to describe it. Wonderful? Amazing? Perfect? All of the above? "You know what, I am NOT having this conversation with my mother".

"So it was good then huh" Lorelai laughed.

"It's always good" Rory shrugged "But this situation, it's anything other than good, it's bad, it's very very bad."

"Why?" Lorelai said quizzically. "You like Logan right, we can all see that and clearly if you were making whoopee on my mother's sofa last night, he's pretty sweet on you too."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Because it just wasn't meant to happen, we weren't meant to go there and then Logan just got up and left. He was being…weird" Rory closed her eyes as she thought back to their awkward parting, kind of wishing she'd forced him to stay instead of letting him run out.

"He left? Weird? In what way?" Lorelai asked.

"He was just very…I don't know, cold maybe, I mean considering how he had been only ten minutes previously…Now we are going to have to have a very awkward conversation about it and ugh, I just don't want to have to face him. I am such an idiot."

"Oh Rory, I am sure it won't be as bad as you are expecting and I'm sure he's going to feel just as awkward as you about it all."

"Maybe, I just wish I knew what the whole leaving thing was about. He couldn't get out of their fast enough, which is a great ego-booster let me tell you."

"I can't answer that one kid, men are strange creatures, but please Rory, don't stress over this, just give call him and get it over and done with. Rip that Band-Aid right off!"

Rory didn't call Logan that day, or the next and neither did he get in contact with her, though he had really wanted to. Logan was so mad at himself for leaving the pool house in the way he did and he feared he had completely blown everything with her. He'd waited so long to be with Rory in that way again and then when it happened, he freaked out when he started thinking about what may or may not happen next. Logan was still hurting from Rory's rejection at her graduation and he was unsure about opening himself up again and being in a vulnerable position.

* * *

A few days passed and Rory was relieved that she'd got thus far without having to dissect the whole sorry thing with Logan. He hadn't been due to see Lily until later in the week and while they'd exchanged a few perfunctory text messages, they'd completely managed to avoid the subject. Now though she couldn't avoid it any longer. Even though there were a million and one things she'd rather do with her time, like a root canal treatment or tonsillectomy, she had arranged to go over and see Mitchum to finalize the trust fund documents for Lily. Rory had nervously made a special effort getting ready and had chosen an outfit that made her feel confident. Whatever happened and whatever was going to be said, she wanted to feel completely at her best so that even if she was completely knotted up on the inside, to the outside world she looked calm, collected and completely together.

Rory arrived at the Huntzberger estate. She parked her car and stood looking at the imposing front door before finally plucking up the courage to knock. There was something about that house that always made her feel about a foot tall. One of the household staff opened the door to greet her and took her coat from her before showing her into the living room. Rory took a seat while she waited for Mitchum to appear.

"No Lily tonight?" Mitchum's voice boomed from behind her, making her jump. There was something about that being in their house that always put her on edge.

Rory turned around to look at him and stood up. "No, I have left her with Marta tonight." she smiled.

"That's a shame, I was looking forward to seeing her. Shall we go through?" Mitchum said gesturing into the hallway.

Rory followed Mitchum into his study. She still felt so very intimidated by the man, even though he was much more civil to her than the first few times their paths had crossed. He sat down behind the desk and she took her seat opposite him.

"So Logan told you what this is all about?" Mitchum asked.

Rory nodded. "Yes, and I will admit, that I was a little surprised about it all, but I guess it's really nice that you want to do this for Lily."

"She's my granddaughter, why wouldn't I do it" Mitchum smiled. "All you need to do is sign here," he pointed as he handed her the pen across the desk. "The money will stay in the trust fund until she is twenty-five, at which point she may do as she pleases with it. Of course, we may be able to release funds earlier in certain circumstances, like for college for example but that's quite a way off yet." he laughed. "Obviously, if you have any more children with Logan in the future, we will put exactly the same thing in place for them."

Rory shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Oh, thank you. I don't think though…I mean, that's not very likely, but thank you all the same." She stumbled over her words. Just then she heard the door to the study open behind her.

"Talking of Logan…" Mitchum smiled at Rory.

"Talking about me? All bad I hope." Logan smirked before turning his attentions to Rory who was trying hard not to make eye contact. "Rory, are you almost done here? I wanted to talk to you quickly before you leave."

"Oh erm, I'm not sure. Mitchum, are we…" Rory waited for him to answer.

Mitchum looked at Rory and Logan. Something had clearly gone down between the two of them as there was an atmosphere in the room and they could barely look at each other but he wasn't about to start intruding.

"Yes, yes, all done. I'll get all this sorted with the lawyers". Mitchum said pulling all the papers into a folder.

Rory stood up and quietly followed Logan out of the study.

"So," he said as he put his hands into his pockets. "We've not really had the chance to talk since…"

Rory chewed on the inside of her cheek. Over the past few days she had thought about all the things she wanted to say to Logan but now she was stood in front of him, she had no idea what any of those things were. She took a deep breath. She considered telling him the absolute truth – that he had really hurt her when he walked out of the pool house, that she was mad at him for acting like it was nothing, that it had been the best thing that had happened in a long time, that she couldn't imagine being with anyone else ever again but none of those words came to her.

"It's fine Logan, we don't need to talk about it" Rory waving her hands dismissively. "Honestly. It was a silly mistake, it won't happen again," she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

Logan looked a bit taken aback. "You don't want it to?" he frowned.

He cursed himself internally. Logan knew that his knee-jerk reaction to get out of there had been a bad move when he was doing it and now it really looked like he'd ruined any hope for them.

"What are you saying? You DO want it to happen again?!" Rory raised her eyebrows. "Logan, I really don't understand you. You just left without saying anything!" she said exasperatedly. "How do you think that made me feel?"

"I know and I feel really bad about that Rory believe me, I just…I wasn't sure what to say or what it meant…" he said quietly.

"And you know now?" She asked looking at him.

He shook his head "No, not really. I mean, obviously we both wanted to but…"

Logan had tried hard to rationalize his thoughts over the past few days. His head wanted to tell him to walk away, reminding him constantly that Rory had really hurt him, not once, but twice. His heart, however, was telling him something completely different. He loved this girl, he had loved her since he had first met her and he knew that it wouldn't matter what he did, he was never going to manage to get Rory out of his mind.

"Look, Logan, it's fine. I was upset but I'm over it. I've had time to think about it and it's probably for the best that we just put it behind us and forget it ever happened."

"Is that what you really want"

"I think it's what we need to do. I don't think that it would be a good idea for us to get into anything – it's too risky now, it's not just us it hurts. If it doesn't work out, it's going to negatively affect Lily and I don't think either of us wants that." Rory said with a hint of sadness.

"But what if we never try and we miss out on something that could be really good?" he said as he took hold of one of her hands.

"Logan…" Rory said as she pulled away slightly, but she didn't remove her hand.

"Why don't we just take things really slowly and see where it takes us?"

"What like becoming boyfriend and girlfriend again?" Rory questioned.

"We don't have to put a label on it right now." Logan said "Maybe we could just go on a few dates, see how we feel. It's been a long time since we did that."

Rory paused. Could she see herself dating him again? She had thought long and hard about Logan over the past few days. She loved having him around, they got on really well and the sex, well the sex had been amazing and it had been a really long time since she'd been touched like that. Rory knew she wanted Logan to be in her life, being apart for eighteen months had been so hard, and she found it really quite exciting to think about starting something new with him.

"Us, dating?" Rory smiled with a raised eyebrow.

"No strings attached" Logan winked, remembering back to their conversation when they first started dating.

"Okay, let's try dating and see where it takes us." she shrugged.

Rory smiled lightly and shook her head the tiniest amount. They both knew that no strings had been pretty much impossible the first time that they started dating. She was pretty certain that it wouldn't work for them this time around either.


	17. Part II

Logan sat at his desk at work and picked up his phone to call Rory.

"So, I was wondering if you had any plans tonight?" he said when she answered.

Rory smiled. It was only yesterday that they had decided to start trying out the dating thing again. Too much had gone down between them to just launch into a relationship so Logan thought to start out with a few casual dates felt like the best way forward.

"The answer to that question is going to depend on who it is calling…" Rory joked. "I have big plans for Chinese food and Noam Chomsky but aside from that…."

"Well, do you think Noam Chomsky will mind stepping aside and waiting until another night because I was kind of hoping that we could go out tonight."

"Out? Out out? Like on a date out?" Rory teased.

"Sure, on a date" Logan reaffirmed.

"Erm, okay, why not."

"Okay. I'll pick you up at 8 pm" Logan said.

* * *

"Mom, I am totally freaking about this," Rory said lying on her bed.

"Freaking out about what hun?"

"Well….I saw Logan yesterday and against my better judgement…we're kind of going out on a date tonight." Rory said sheepishly.

Rory still had trouble believing that she and Logan were going to start dating but here she was, getting herself ready for their first official date in what basically amounted to years. She felt super nervous which was ridiculous given that she'd been in already been in a long-term relationship with the guy and they now had a child. Still, that didn't prevent the butterflies that seemed to have taken over her body.

"I don't know why that would be cause for a freak-out you've been on a million dates with Logan, plus you just had sex with the guy like, what, just a few days ago so you already know that part works…"

"Mom!" Rory groaned "This is different! What am I going to wear? Oh my god, what will we talk about!"

"Will you just relax Rory!" Lorelai said "Okay, first clothes, presuming you'll need some – wear that blue dress, the one with the off the shoulder thing going on"

"The fitted one?" Rory asked as she pulled it out of the wardrobe.

"Yep, that's the baby."

Rory held up against herself and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "You don't think that maybe it's a bit too 'come and get it'?" she asked her mother.

"Seeing as he's already been and got it I don't see what that matters." Lorelai joked.

"Wow, mom. I am never telling you anything ever again."

* * *

"You look amazing," Logan said as he greeted Rory with a smile.

"Oh, this old thing? It was only about the 100th dress I tried on." She rolled her eyes.

Logan smiled "Nervous?"

"A little" She admitted with a shy smile.

"Me too," Logan said "Shall we go?" he asked taking her by the hand.

They got in Logan's car and he drove them to Carbone's, an Italian restaurant in Hartford, remembering how much Rory had loved the cuisine when they were dating. After a slightly stilted start, the conversation, with a little help from the Dom Perignon, began to flow more freely as they relaxed into the evening.

"Do you remember that time that Finn got caught naked in the cafeteria that night?"

"Oh my God yes! What was he even doing in there?" Rory threw her head back and laughed as she remembered the antics of their friends at Yale.

"I have no idea. I remember him saying something about some redhead who worked in there…"

"If my memory serves me right that redhead was nearly sixty." Rory shook her head.

Logan shrugged with a smile "It's Finn, you know where his standards are set – permanently low. Ah, we had some fun times huh". Logan laughed.

"Yeah, we did" Rory smiled.

"So Ace, tell me a bit more about what you've been up to over the past eighteen months, now I know you've not been working and all the stuff with Lily but…any significant others that I should know about?"

"You mean, did I have a boyfriend? Ha! Chance would have been a fine thing" Rory rolled her eyes.

"You didn't date at all?" Logan asked.

"Hmm, let me see. For nine months of it, I was pregnant – surprisingly not a huge turn-on for most men. There's a reason you're not meant to be single when you have a baby – it means someone is morally bound to want to take care of you, in more ways than one" Rory blushed before quickly moving on "and for the other nine months I was existing on two hours sleep a night and self-medicating with copious amounts of caffeine. No Logan, I didn't date at all."

"Gotta say I am a little bit relieved."

"And you're going to tell me you led a life of celibacy in California? I highly doubt that". Rory questioned.

"Not quite but nothing serious. Or even semi-serious. Not sure California girls are all they are cracked up to be" he said with a smirk.

Rory looked at Logan. "Do you miss it? California I mean?"

Logan shook his head "No, I don't miss it. It was never home you know. I always felt like I was just visiting though it definitely had some plus points."

"Perhaps you can take me one day…" Rory said, "It would be nice to see what…" Rory paused. She had almost said that it would be nice to see what she had missed out on but it felt too melancholy so she had stopped herself at the last moment. "I mean, nice to see where you were living, you know, getting your morning coffee and all that."

"Yeah sure," Logan smiled. He thought back to all the times he'd wished that Rory was there with him in California. "So what do you plan to do after grad school?"

"I have absolutely no idea! I only really went back to grad school in the end because I felt that I needed to do something. It wasn't my first choice, obviously going on the Obama campaign trail would have been absolutely amazing…" Rory trailed off "…but fate dealt a different hand…"

"I'm sorry," Logan said quietly. "I'm sorry that you had to miss that opportunity."

"Nothing to apologise for Logan" Rory shook her head. "No point dwelling on it, what will be will be. I'm sure there will be other great opportunities in the future, at least I hope there will be."

"Absolutely," Logan said firmly "You still want to travel for work?"

Rory smiled sadly. "No, I've let that dream go."

"Why," he asked.

"It's just not something that is possible with Lily. I can't very well take her out on the road with me and there's no way I could leave her behind so Option A just isn't open to me, so I'll have to try Option B."

Logan looked at her and felt a bit sad that she had given up on her dream. "Which is…?"

"Stay local. Look for a job that is within a reasonable distance. New York maybe, The New York Times would still be an absolute dream. The main thing is keeping Lily near her family. I couldn't take her away from my mom and Luke, they love her to pieces and obviously now you're here so…that would be a consideration." Rory smiled.

"You'd factor me into that decision?" Logan looked at Rory, slightly surprised.

"Well yeah, I mean, you are Lily's father, whatever happens between us in the future you're in her life now so that's always going to influence what I do. You're taking over HPG, that's based here, it's not feasible to expect you to follow us wherever we go." Rory shrugged.

"That's good to know, but you know I would factor you in too don't you?"

Rory nodded "Yeah, I know that".

* * *

After dinner, Logan walked Rory back to the door of the Pool House.

As she put the key in the door, she turned to face him. "Thanks for dinner Logan, I really enjoyed myself."

"No problem" Logan smiled at Rory as she pushed the door open.

"Erm, do you want to come in? Lily is in the main house with Marta so…" Rory trailed off, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, it's been a really long time since I have been in this kind of situation, I'm not really sure what the right thing to say or do is. You can come in for coffee if you want…"

Logan shook his head. "Maybe another time." He could sense Rory's disappointment and he really hoped that she didn't take it as a rejection from him because he didn't mean it to be at all. He was just aware that this had been their first proper date in years and he wanted to demonstrate to her, that for him, it wasn't just about the sex and he really did want to spend time getting to know her better.

"Oh okay," Rory said, looking a little hurt.

"Rory, Just because I'm not coming in with you, doesn't mean that I don't want to. Believe me, I do want to, so badly it hurts" Logan whispered as he leaned into Rory and put his hand gently on the back of her head, pulling her in close to him before pressing his lips to her and drawing her into a passionate kiss.

Rory pulled away breathlessly and smiled. "Okay, another time."

* * *

Colin was home from Stanford for a few days so Logan met up with him and Finn to catch up on everything that had been going on in their lives. It had been a while since Logan had seen Colin but he managed to fill him in on the arrival of Lily in his life.

"What's new with you Logan? Still burning the midnight oil at HPG?" Colin asked, taking a swig of his scotch.

"I am, it's going really well actually. Never thought I'd say it but I actually really enjoy it. My dad seems to be a changed man these days…shame it took a near cardiac arrest and two grandchildren to do it but it's not too bad" Logan said.

"How are you getting on with Lily? Is she talking yet?" Finn asked.

"It's great, she's great. She can say a few words now. Finally got a dada out of her the other day." Logan smiled as he thought about his daughter.

"And Rory?" Colin asked.

Logan laughed "I think she mastered the art of speech somewhere in the 1980's…"

"You know what I mean!" Colin rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Rory and I…it's…a bit complicated," Logan said picking up his drink.

"Mate! You shagged her!" Finn shouted.

Logan shook his head. "You want to say it again a bit louder Finn? I don't think the people in the building next door heard you."

"But you did right, you're not denying it," Finn said as he rubbed his hands with glee.

Logan rolled his eyes "Yes, we slept together, but just the one time. It's not happened since and we are just going to try dating for a bit, taking things slowly."

"Do you think that's a good idea, Logan? I mean, after everything that went down between you two and what she did with Lily. Do you trust her? Have you forgiven her?" Colin, always the voice of reason asked as he looked at him. Colin remembered too well just what sort of state Logan had been in after Rory had turned down his proposal. He'd never seen his friend so low and it had taken Colin and Finn a fair old amount of bucking up to get him back up on an even keel which is why when Logan had called to tell him about Lily, Colin had been less than impressed with Rory.

"I trust her" Logan nodded. "I'm not saying that I've completely forgiven her, it's not that easy but I have to at least try, right? Anyway, it's just a casual thing right now…" Logan shrugged with a slight air of bravado.

"Oh and we all remember how well that worked out the first time around" Finn laughed.

"Well, that's how it is at the moment. We're just seeing how things pan out, we're not exclusive or anything."

Colin raised an eyebrow. "Does Rory know that?"

"Yeah, sure," Logan said knocking back his scotch.


	18. Hello Cold World

**A/N: I just wanted to say a big thank you for all you reviews so far. I hope you are enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it. Please keep reading and commenting, it definitely motivates me! As a side note, is a bit crazy right now and it seems that email notifications are not being sent out and people have been missing my updates which makes me sad. The best thing to do is check manually. I updated at least 4-5 times per week. Hopefully it will get back to normal soon - It definitely means less reviews and I miss them!**

* * *

A couple of weeks passed by with Logan and Rory enjoying a couple more casual dates. They'd gone out to dinner a few more times and had the odd night out to watch a movie but so far, other than a few kisses and a bit of chaste hand holding, they had not been intimate again since the night in the Pool House at Lily's birthday.

Logan had arranged to pick Rory up that night to go out for some drinks while Lily was staying over with Lorelai in Stars Hollow. She was looking forward to going out and letting her hair down, but it was going to be a bit different for them that night, as they had plans to meet up with Colin and Finn. Rory was nervous about seeing them again after so long, she couldn't help but wonder how they would be towards her. She'd had no contact with them since graduation. They'd been friends in their Yale days, but ultimately, as Logan's friends, their loyalty was to him and in the event of their break-up it hadn't seemed right to maintain any contact.

"Don't be nervous Ace," Logan said as he squeezed her hand.

"I'm trying, but I feel a little like I am about to go in front of the firing squad." Rory grimaced as they walked into the bar.

"Hey, guys!" Logan said as he walked up to the table where his friends were sitting.

Finn jumped up to greet Rory "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he winked "Love, you look great," he said pulling her into a hug.

"Rory" Colin nodded. "Nice to see you."

"Hi, Colin" Rory smiled nervously.

"Drinks?" Finn said as he rubbed his hands together and beckoned the waitress over.

"So Rory what have you been doing with yourself since Yale…" Finn started to ask before Colin interrupted.

"…inbetween having a secret love child that is." Colin finished. Logan shot him a look.

"Oh yeah, how is motherhood treating you, darling? You had plenty of practice playing mother with us three" Finn winked.

Rory took a deep breath and smiled before telling them all about Lily and her life over the past eighteen months.

"It didn't really turn out like I had planned," she said as she took a sip of her drink.

"I'll say," Finn said.

"So, are you two, you know, together now," Colin asked as he looked directly at Rory.

Logan fumed at his friend. Colin knew fully well what the situation was but for some reason, he was determined to cause trouble. He thought about stepping in and moving the conversation on but on the other hand, he was fairly interested to see what Rory would say. He'd only suggested the casual, no strings dating as she had seemed uncertain and he hadn't wanted to spook her.

Rory looked at Logan apprehensively. "Erm, I…no we're not…I mean, well, we're just seeing how things go right now."

"Right" Colin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Logan.

Finn could sense that there was some kind of tension amongst the group. "Hey, it's Saturday night, why don't we get a little crazy. Shots?"

"Sounds good to me!" Rory said knocking back her drink.

"Really Ace, you sure?" Logan said as he looked at her in surprise. He hadn't seen this side of her in quite a while.

"Oh c'mon Huntzberger, live in the moment." She smiled.

"That's my kind of girl love," Finn said as he put the vodka shots down in front of them.

They had a couple of rounds of shots and a few other drinks and before long Rory found herself merrily tipsy. Colin had seemed to chill out a bit and had got off Rory's case. He was stood on the other side of the room chatting up some blonde and Finn was off chasing a redhead who couldn't have been less interested if she tried. Rory laughed to herself when she thought about how nothing had really changed since their college days.

Logan and Rory were sat in a booth, talking closely. She couldn't help herself any longer and before she knew what she was doing, Rory leaned into Logan and kissed him, softly at first but as he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, it became more urgent.

"I thought we were taking things slow," Logan said as he pulled back and looked at her.

He absolutely wanted something to happen with Rory but wasn't about to take advantage of his slightly drunken date, especially as right now things were so up in the air. She'd made it clear earlier in the night when talking to Colin that they were just casually dating and if that were the case, Logan wasn't ready to start blurring the boundaries yet.

"We have been taking things slow…" Rory said as she trailed little open-mouthed down his neck and he groaned.

"Come on Logan, why are you holding out on me. We haven't…you know…since the pool house." She said as she moved her hand down his body to his waistband and started sliding her hand down his pants. "Don't you want to? You know it would be good." She whispered.

Logan's breath hitched. It was going to take all his strength. "That's it, time to go home Ace, you're drunk," Logan said as he moved to stand up.

"Spoilsport" Rory pouted.

"You'll thank me tomorrow Ace," he said as he pulled her up and went to find the guys to let them know that they were leaving.

* * *

A few days later Rory sat at the Pool House waiting impatiently for Logan. They had arranged for him to come by after work that night to spend some time with Lily as Rory had an evening class but it was half an hour after he was meant to show and there was no sign of him. Rory was getting worried about him, it was unlike him to let her know if he was running late and her mind starting working overtime.

She'd already tried phoning him several times but there was no answer so she grabbed Lily and drove over to the Huntzberger estate to see if she could find him. When she got there the maid who recognised her, welcomed her in but there was no sign of him. Rory was just walking out of the door to leave when his car pulled up outside.

Logan looked surprised to see Rory and she registered the awkward look on his face when the penny dropped.

"Shit, I totally forgot…" Logan said getting out of the car and walking towards Rory. It had suddenly dawned on him why Rory was there and why she was looking so irritated. He knew that she was going to be pissed with him.

"I'm here now, I'll take Lily and you can go get to your class." He said placing his cell phone and keys down on the table in the entrance hall. Taking hold of his daughter he walked to place her down in the living room.

As he did so his cell phone beeped and a message flashed up on the screen. Rory picked up his cell and walked over to him.

"Logan your phone…" she stopped as she read the message on the screen.

"I had fun, let's do it again sometime? x"

Rory looked at Logan. "You complete ass! I don't believe you. You forgot to pick up your daughter because you were screwing some girl?" she yelled and threw the cell phone in his direction.

"What?" he said as he caught the cell phone Rory threw at him. "Oh," he said reading the message.

"Real nice Logan" Rory said turning to leave.

"Rory, I wasn't screwing her as you so nicely put it, we just went for a drink is all," Logan said. "There's no need to get mad."

Rory turned at scowled at him. "I'm not mad at you because you went on a date you asshole…."

"No?" Logan questioned.

Rory glared at him.

"Rory, we never said we were exclusive."

Rory shook her head. "Oh my God. What is this Logan, I hurt you so you have to hurt me back? Is this how it is going to be with us because if it is, I want out of this, whatever this is. I'm not interested in playing games."

"I'm not doing this right now Rory, I've had a long day, I went for a drink with a work colleague that's all"

"Fine" Rory said putting her hands up "Do you know what Logan, you are not my boyfriend, you don't owe me any explanation at all but you ARE Lily's father and when you say you're going to show up, you have to show up!" she said as she stooped down to pick up Lily and walked out of the room.

"Rory, where are you going…" Logan sighed as he followed her out of the room.

"Home," Rory said without looking back at him.

"But you have a class, leave Lily here and get going, we'll talk later"

"Forget it, Logan, it's too late for my class now and I am not leaving my daughter here with you." She said as she clipped Lily into the car seat and drove away.

* * *

Rory got home and threw her keys on the kitchen worktop before pouring herself a large glass of wine. Rory was so mad at Logan for so many different reasons – she was mad that he had forgotten that he was meant to be looking after their daughter, she was mad that he had gone on some sort of date with someone else and she was really mad that she had missed her class. He should know better than anyone that she hated to miss class, she always had done, especially when she still had so much to catch up. She put her cell phone down next to her keys, ignoring the five missed calls from her ex-boyfriend.

After she had put Lily to bed, Rory sat at the kitchen counter, sipping her wine. She had calmed down a little but was still feeling irritated. A knock at the door startled her and interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in," Rory said without getting up. "Oh, it's you," Rory said as Logan stuck his head around the door. "I don't want to talk to you right now," she said.

"Tough luck," Logan said as he walked in and sat on a chair next to her. Rory didn't look at him. "Rory, I'm sorry, I screwed up."

Rory looked up and laughed sarcastically but didn't speak.

"I didn't forget about Lily. Well, okay, I forgot that I was meant to be looking after her tonight…but it's not the same thing."

Rory took a sip of her wine. "Logan, if this is going to work, us doing this parenting thing, I need to know that I can rely on you."

"You can," he said firmly.

"Well a missed class and my soaring blood pressure currently say otherwise," she said knocking back the rest of her wine. "And I was worried about you."

"You were?" he said with a smirk.

"Yes! Anything could have happened. You didn't show, I couldn't get in contact with you…I was stressing out"

"It's nice to know you care Ace." Logan smiled.

"Of course I care. You are Lily's father…but I would have cared less had I known you were simply on a date." Rory said as she poured another glass of wine.

"About that…"

"It's fine Logan" Rory shook her head "Please do me a favour and spare me all the gory details…"

"It wasn't really a date, it really was just a drink with a colleague after work" Logan pleaded gently.

"Are you sure, because from that message, she sounds like she thought it was a date…"

Logan rubbed his hand through his hair. "Rory, what do you want. Do you want us to be exclusive? I mean, we talked about taking it slow and you didn't seem keen on us having an official status when we discussed it…"

"I know what we talked about," Rory said quietly.

"So….what do you want?"

"I don't know what I want. I'm not sure I am ready to enter into a full relationship right now but…selfishly I don't like the idea of you dating anyone either." Rory admitted.

Logan sighed. "So you want me to sit around and wait for you until you're ready and you've made your mind up because I don't think that's very fair."

"That's not what I am saying, Logan. I'm just saying…Oh, I don't know what I am saying" she dropped her head into her hands.

"Why don't we just do this? What is there to lose?" Logan asked.

"This. Us. We're friends, I don't want to ruin that. I don't want to make our lives difficult with Lily" Rory said quietly "You understand that, right?"

"It didn't seem like you just wanted to be friends at the bar the other night…" Logan remarked and Rory blushed.

When the memories of how she came on to Logan had all resurfaced the next morning she had tried very hard to push them out of her mind and pretend like it never happened, which was easier said than done when there was someone around who was only too happy to remind her.

"I'm not saying never, I'm just saying that, whatever I might have been implying at the bar…" Rory blushed furiously again. Stupid vodka, she thought to herself. "Doing this slowly and carefully is the right thing to do but I want you to know that ultimately…that's what we're working towards, I hope."

"You confuse me, Rory," Logan said as he shook his head.

"I confuse myself." She laughed before turning more serious. "I want to be with you Logan, I do, but I need to be sure that this is going to work, for all of us."


	19. All I Wanted

"Knock knock"

Rory looked up to see Logan standing at the door with Lily in his arms. Their tête-à-tête a few days earlier had seemed to clear the air a little and she was glad of this. After she had time to stew on it, Rory felt like she had over-reacted a bit about Logan having a drink with someone else, but she had been so annoyed that he had missed collecting Lily she couldn't help but lash out. Of course, it brought a few things to a head and while some things were still unresolved, they were at least starting to open up and talk about their feelings.

They had needed to accept that they had both been hurt by each other in the past. They'd each caused the other untold grief but they needed to move on from that. Logan had only just begun to look past his own pain and realize just how much Rory must have been hurting after her graduation, and throughout her pregnancy. He still felt confused about their current situation, not entirely sure of what Rory wanted from him but she had made it clear that while she may not be ready quite yet to go all in, ultimately it was what she wanted for the future and Logan was willing to wait.

"I'm sorry I was hoping to find Rory but I think I must have got the wrong address as I'm pretty sure I'd never catch her….cleaning" he laughed as Rory through a tea towel at him.

"I'm not cleaning actually – and that was very rude by the way. Just because I've lived with Emily Gilmore all this time doesn't mean that I am too good to pick up a duster" she said. "I'm actually decluttering. I thought I'd make the most of having a few hours to myself. All this…stuff…it's taking over." Rory said as she picked up a box and put it near the door. "I can't wait to get a job so I can get a bigger place. As soon as I finish grad school…You want a drink?" she asked taking Lily off him and giving her a big kiss.

"I'll get it," Logan said walking over to the kitchen and pouring two coffees. He picked them up and put them on the coffee table next to where Rory was sitting.

"So we have some news to share with you, don't we Lily," Logan said.

"Oh?!" Rory looked at Logan suspiciously.

"Someone took some steps today…" he said tentatively, not sure how Rory would feel about missing out on such an important milestone.

"My baby walked!" Rory looked at Logan in shock. "Aww, you clever girl," she said giving Lily a big squeeze.

"You're not sad you missed it?" he asked carefully. "I didn't know whether I should tell you or not…wait for you to discover it for yourself"

"Ah I am little sad" Rory smiled "But I've had lots of firsts, I'm glad that you got to experience one too. Actually, that reminds me of something, can you take Lily for a moment?" she said popping Lily down on his lap. Rory looked at Lily and Logan together. They had become pretty much inseparable in such a short space of time and while she was disappointed to have not witnessed Lily's first steps, she truthfully was really happy that Logan had got to enjoy a special moment with his daughter.

Rory grabbed a box and sat down next to him. "I've had this for a while, I've been meaning to give it to you but there's been so much going on I kind of just forgot about it until I was clearing out today."

"What is it?" he said as he took the box off her looking puzzled

"Open it" Rory instructed. She felt nervous, not sure how Logan would react to the contents of the box.

Logan carefully lifted the lid off the box. Inside it was packed full of photographs of Lily, from the moment she was born until Logan had come into her life. There were copies of the scans that Rory had when she was pregnant and a series of handwritten Post-It notes with key dates and events written on them. He flicked through the contents of the box quietly, feeling a bit sad at realising what he had missed out on.

"I never wanted you to miss out on anything." Rory finally spoke after allowing him a few quiet moments to look at the photos. "I know you probably think that I would never have told you about Lily but I need to you to know, I would have, at some point, and I hope that this demonstrates that I always had that intention? I always hoped that you'd be part of her life one day and so I kind of documented everything and kept it in this box for you."

"What are the Post-It notes for?" Logan asked as he picked one up to read.

"Just milestones and silly things that I didn't want to forget to tell you about – when she got her first tooth, first slept through the night, the first food she tasted…"

"Chocolate cake? At six months?" Logan smiled.

"You can blame my mother for that one!" Rory rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for this," Logan said as he looked up at Rory.

"You're welcome," Rory said quietly. "I just wish I could go back in time and change things. I wish I'd done things differently," she said, a few small tears escaping.

"Hey," Logan said as he put his arm around her and wiped the tears from her cheek. "That's all in the past now, we've got all of the future to look forward to, right?"

* * *

A few days later Rory stepped out of her class and into the sunshine. It had been a really long morning and she was hungry. As she walked out of the building she saw Logan and Lily waiting for her on a bench opposite.

"Well, well, this is a nice surprise!" she said as she approached them with a smile.

"We thought we'd meet mommy for lunch, didn't we," Logan said talking to Lily.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Baby's first trip to Yale?"

"Well she's a legacy isn't she?" Logan smiled.

Rory smiled back. With parents and grandparents who attended Yale, Lily was no doubt a shoe-in. She couldn't ever imagine this tiny little girl being old enough to attend Yale but she was secretly excited about the idea.

"Aren't you meant to be at work?" Rory asked.

"I took the day off I had a few things to sort out…and I also needed to talk to you."

"Ooh, intrigue" Rory teased "So this wasn't just a spontaneous lunch visit?"

Logan put his hands up "No, you got me, I have an ulterior motive."

"You boys always do. C'mon on then Huntzberger hit me with it." Rory said taking hold of Lily.

"Okay. Now before I start, I want you to hear me out completely, no jumping down my throat or anything. Promise?" Logan said to Rory.

"Promise" Rory rolled her eyes.

"I took the day off today because I needed to go look at a house and I'm here because I want you to come and see it before I buy it."

"You want me to come and view your new bachelor pad?" Rory asked.

"I thought you weren't jumping in?" Logan said as he nudged her.

"Sorry," Rory said laughing.

"It's not going to be my bachelor pad. I want you and Lily to move in with me"

Rory looked at him in surprise. "Move in with you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I want to be clear before you start to panic, this isn't us 'moving in' together in that sense. It wouldn't be like that." Logan said seriously.

"So how would it be?" Rory asked him carefully. "You think this would work?"

"I don't know," Logan said honestly. "All know is that I've already missed out on so much and I don't want to miss out on anymore. I want to see Lily, every day, as much as possible."

"Just Lily?" Rory questioned, pretending to pout.

"Well I think her mother kind of comes as part of the deal," he said as he kissed Rory on the forehead. "You want to come see it before you shoot me down?"

"Sure" Rory nodded. "Let's go look."

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Logan asked Rory after she had walked around the whole place for the second time.

The house, which was in Hartford, not too far away from her grandparent's place was a stunning colonial style. It had four bedrooms and four bathrooms and a beautiful modern kitchen with granite counters. There was a stylish entrance foyer and a large living room and dining room with French doors. The master bedroom suite had a large bathroom and it's own sitting room and the three further bedrooms were also of a great size.

Rory nodded. "I think it's really nice. Big." She said as she looked out of the French doors and at the rear of the property. Outside was a two-tier patio with a fountain overlooking a large landscaped park-like backyard. She could easily imagine Lily running around out there as she got older.

"Yep, lots of space. Four bedrooms – Lily can have her own room finally, and you of course. I'm not even nearly suggesting…" Logan started to reassure Rory.

"I know" she smiled.

"Good, I don't want you to think that I am jumping the gun. I just think that you'll have more privacy and space here, you said you needed a bigger place, and just think, it's going to make sharing the childcare so much easier."

Rory chewed her lip.

"We've lived together before Ace, it's not big deal. What do you say? You want to go make a pro/con list?" Logan winked.

Rory waggled her finger at him "Don't mock my pro/con lists! I just need a moment." She said pensively.

"Okay, I tell you what. Why don't I take Lily for a walk around the block and leave you for ten minutes?"

After Logan and Lily left Rory sat on the floor in the kitchen and pulled out her cell phone.

"Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai speaking"

"Mom, have you got five minutes, I really need to talk to you"

"Ooh this sounds serious, you have your most serious telephone voice on. Sure, hang on, let me take it out back" Lorelai said as she walked into the store room where it was a bit more private. "Okay, go for it"

Rory took a deep breath, knowing that this might not go well. "Logan asked me to move in with him."

"Move in with him? Isn't that a bit sudden…I mean you're not even…" Lorelai paused.

"I know. He doesn't mean like that. More like Lily and I would live with him here, in his house but we'd be in totally separate bedrooms…"

"You're in the house now?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes, he wanted me to see it before he bought it. Logan has gone for a walk with Lily while I have an internal freak out. Mom. I need you to tell me what to do" Rory said as she rested her head against one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Oh Rory, I can't do that. It's not my decision" Lorelai said resolutely.

"Mom, you love to tell me what to do! Don't stop now!"

"Oh no kiddo, I don't do that anymore, not after the whole Yale fiasco."

"but I don't know what to do," Rory said quietly.

Lorelai sighed. "Well, I'd say the fact you are seriously considering it must mean something. It's a big step though kid and this isn't just about you anymore. I think it's nice he asked though."

"Yeah I know" Rory sighed.

Rory ended the call with her mom and walked around the house again. She had to admit that it was a beautiful place and she would have much more space than at the pool house. Logan was right – they'd lived together before and that had been fine. It was going to be a bit different now as they were still taking baby steps towards a proper relationship but she knew that if she ever wanted to be with Logan at some point she was going to have to push all her concerns out of the way and just leap.

Logan had walked around the block with Lily and started heading back towards the house where Rory was waiting for him. He had been nervous about telling her about the house and asking her to move in, conscious he didn't want it to seem like he was pushing things too quickly but in his head it just all made perfect sense. He needed somewhere to live, she needed somewhere to live – living together seemed like the perfect solution. He just hoped that she felt the same way. When he got back to the house, he walked up the path to see Rory waiting there on the front steps.

"Okay, let's do it" she nodded firmly.

"What?!" Logan looked at her incredulously, not quite believing what she was saying.

"You jump, I jump Jack" she shrugged and smiled.


	20. Cloud Nine

As soon as Rory had agreed to move into the house with him, Logan put in an offer which was accepted immediately. The house was vacant, the previous owners had already moved out and so they only had to wait a little while before they were able to take possession of it. A few weeks later they found themselves in an office downtown ready to sign the papers and collect the keys.

"Okay, I just need you to sign on that line there Mr Huntzberger," the clerk said indicating to a space on the document "and then Miss Gilmore you will need to sign next to that."

Rory looked up at the clerk confused and then over at Logan. "What am I signing?"

"This is to formally register the property – you need to sign the document so that both your names are registered as owners" the clerk answered.

"Oh, okay but I am not the owner, Logan is," Rory said.

"Ace…we're going to both own this house" Logan smiled.

"I don't understand," Rory said shaking her head.

"I don't want it to be MY house, I want it to be yours too. If I just own it, you're always going to feel like you're a guest in my house. I don't want that, do you? It's got to feel like your proper home."

Logan had thought long and hard about entering into this with Rory but he knew that the only way it was going to work was if they were equal partners. He hated the idea that she might feel that she couldn't treat the place as her own and so he had decided the best way forward was for them to be joint owners. What might happen in the future didn't really worry him too much – he viewed it as providing for his family, and whether he and Rory were together or not he would always want to do that.

"I guess…but…it's a lot you know? I mean, you can't just buy me a house!" Rory said. She was struggling to comprehend what Logan was doing. It was one thing to ask her to come live with him, another thing altogether to actually give her a share of it.

"I haven't" Logan smiled "I've bought you half a house" he added.

Rory rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, it's no big deal Rory, please don't over think this – I didn't mention it before now as I knew you would do anything to stop me. At the end of the day it's my responsibility to support Lily and by extension of that, you as well." Logan shrugged.

"But I can't afford to contribute anything right now…" Rory grimaced. She felt a bit embarrassed that she had no spare money right but with studying and not having a job things were often tight and her dad had been providing for her up until now.

"I know! I'm not asking you to but if it means that much to you, I'm sure one day you'll be back working and you can contribute then in whatever way you want to. Hell, maybe I'll be a stay-at-home dad for a bit and you can support me and my expensive golfing habit." he winked as he handed Rory the pen.

"You don't play golf," she said dryly, as she took the pen out of his hand and hesitated, hovering over the dotted line. "Are you really sure about this Logan?"

"Absolutely"

* * *

"Where do you want these boxes love?" Finn asked as he walked into the house balancing two heavy boxes full of books.

"Better ask the lady of the house," Logan said as he walked past carrying another box.

"Logan, it's been a long time since I call you love," Finn shouted.

Rory stood by the door with her hand on her hip and brushed her hair out of her face with the other. "Erm, I don't know. Maybe in the main living room…no, the sitting room."

"Come on love make a decision, I'm not as strong as I look" he winked. "Some of this is just for show…"

"Definitely the sitting room, follow me," Rory said leading the way.

Finn followed Rory into the small sitting room that was just situated off the entrance foyer. They already had a large living room that led straight into the dining room so they had planned to use the smaller room as a study. Finn placed the boxes on the floor just as Logan walked in with another box of books.

"Rory, the delivery guy has just turned up outside with the furniture for Lily's room. I'm not sure where you want it…"

"I'll go" she nodded. "Thanks, Finn," she said as she walked out of the room.

"So," Finn said looking at Logan "You're still on casual dating terms but you're moving in together…how does that even work?" he asked.

"Just like it sounds" Logan shrugged "I am going to live here, Rory is going to live here."

"But you're not together, together are you?"

"Not at the moment," Logan said quietly.

"So…what are the sleeping arrangements? I mean, you're not sharing a room or anything?" Finn raised an eyebrow.

"Not that it's really any of your business but no" Logan shook his head. "We have our own rooms, it's still early days in the whole dating thing. I think we both need our space. Plus, there's no way on earth Rory would have agreed to come live with me if that had been the offer that was on the table."

"And just how long are you both going to carry on living in denial?" Finn laughed.

"We're not in denial!" Logan said "We're just taking things slowly, for Lily's sake…but yeah, me and Rory together, that is the endgame."

"I give it one week until you're in the same bed," Finn said pointing at Logan "One week!"

* * *

After a really long day of shifting many many boxes around and arranging and rearranging their new furniture, Rory finally went upstairs to put Lily to bed in her new room. They had not yet decided on a color scheme or theme for the room but that didn't matter to Rory at all, she was just really happy that Lily finally had a room of her own.

Once she had settled her daughter, Rory went across to her own bedroom. Logan had insisted that she take the master suite that came with its own bathroom, dressing area and sitting room and after a lot of debating the issue with him she finally relented and accepted it, realizing she wasn't going to win the battle. She took a quick shower and changed into her pyjamas before heading downstairs to where Logan was stretched out on their new sofa watching TV.

Logan lay back on the sofa enjoying a cold beer. It had been a long day and his mind wasn't really on the TV in front of him. He couldn't believe that they were actually there, together in their own house. When he'd first had the idea about Rory and Lily living with him he hadn't actually dared hope that she would go for it. He had been completely prepared for the knockback so it had come as a really pleasant surprise that she had decided to throw caution to the wind and take a huge leap of faith.

Rory walked into the living room and sat down nervously on the sofa next to Logan.

"What, are you scared I'll bite or something? Come here!" Logan said pulling Rory over to him. Rory lay down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. They were both completely exhausted from the long day of moving and so they simply lay together quietly watching TV together. Neither had the energy for much conversation.

When the show they were watching ended, Rory looked up at Logan to find that at some point he had drifted off to sleep. She smiled and shook him gently "Hey Rip Van Winkle, I think it's past your bedtime."

Logan opened his eyes slowly. "I wasn't sleeping, I was just resting my eyes…"

"Right, I've heard that one before" Rory laughed pulling Logan up. "Bed!" she said sternly.

"Wow, all you needed to do was ask Rory" he winked "but I have to say, I like this dominant side of you"

"Nice try buster, you are going to your bed and I'm going to mine," she said as she headed up the stairs.

"Goodnight Ace" Logan said as he kissed her briefly on the top of the head and they both went into their own rooms.

Rory lay back on her bed. After the busy day they'd had, she had expected sleep to come quickly but instead there she lay staring up at the ceiling. It felt weird to her that Logan was in the same house as her, sleeping in a different room. It was definitely something that was going to take a bit of getting used to, she thought as she rolled over and tried to get herself comfortable.

* * *

The first few days sharing a house went by swimmingly. They'd both settled into an easy routine and much to their relief, there was no awkwardness. It felt almost like old times, though neither of them wanted to admit that out loud.

Logan walked into the kitchen and stood by the door, quietly watching Rory and Lily. They were totally oblivious to the fact that he was there. Rory was doing her best to multi-task, trying to read the newspaper, drink her coffee and helping to spoon cereal into Lily – which was easier said that done as the little lady had recently decided that she wanted to use the spoon herself. This often resulted in anything within a five-metre radius being covered in breakfast. Logan loved the scene of domesticity that he had just stumbled upon.

"Morning ladies," he said happily as he walked over to the counter and poured himself a coffee.

Rory looked up and smiled "Morning." She said handing him the business section of the paper, which was always his favorite place to start reading. "What's your plans for today?"

"Meeting in New York," Logan said sipping his coffee. "I'll probably be back quite late tonight, I'm expecting it to be a long one. You?"

"Ah well, Lily and I have very exciting plans to go to the park. We might feed the ducks or Lily might just try and chase after them, fall on her face, cry for a little bit…" Rory smiled. Lily had recently become more confident on her feet but she was still wobbly and often forgot that she hadn't quite mastered the art of walking gracefully yet.

"Ugh," Logan said as he read something on his phone.

"What's the matter?" Rory said without looking up, too busy wiping cereal off her skirt.

"Summons for a family dinner tomorrow at my parent's house," Logan said pulling a face.

"Bad luck. I'm so happy that my grandparents have finally given up on the Friday night dinner thing…" Rory trailed off.

"Why bad luck for me? You're coming too!" Logan said.

"Me?!" Rory looked up at him exasperatedly.

"I guess they consider you part of the family now" Logan smirked "Bad luck," he said mimicking her earlier sentiments.

Rory groaned.

* * *

"Well, that was not as painful as I thought it would be," Logan said as they pulled up outside their new home after having dinner with the Huntzbergers. He still wasn't sure exactly why his parents had invited them there. Shira had said it was because she thought that they had probably been too busy to cook for themselves this week, but that seemed far too thoughtful of his mother. Nevertheless, it hadn't been a bad evening, everyone had remained cordial and his parents were pleasant to Rory which had been a concern for him since he knew that they hadn't been thrilled when the plans for their living arrangements had come to light.

"No, not at all. And your mom only actually made one small dig about us and our 'relationship' – well that I caught anyhow". Rory laughed.

Logan smiled in return. "Thanks for coming. I know there are better ways to spend your Friday night…like toenail extraction."

"You're not wrong!" Rory said getting out of the car and leaning into the back seat to get Lily out. "Oh, she's fallen asleep." Rory whispered "Logan, do you think you can get her out and carry her upstairs?"

Logan reached in and carefully unclipped and lifted his sleeping daughter. Rory was glad that she had changed Lily into her sleepsuit before they left, knowing that the car journey was normally enough to send her off.

"I'll take her up and put her to bed," Logan said as he walked into the house and Rory closed the front door behind them.

Rory went to her room and got changed into her own pyjamas. She went back downstairs to fetch a glass of water and as she headed back to her room she bumped into Logan coming out of Lily's bedroom.

"All asleep?" Rory asked.

"Out like a light" Logan smiled. "You off to bed now?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd just get an early night. I've really been struggling to sleep a bit this week, probably just being in a new place but it's starting to catch up with me"

"You want to come and sleep in my room tonight?" Logan asked tentatively.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Logan…"

"No funny business Ace, just straight sex…" he put his hands up in defense "I'm joking, I'm joking!" he laughed as she shot him a look. "Come on, it might help you sleep a bit better," he said pulling her by the hand and into his room.

Logan climbed into bed and Rory sat uncomfortably on the edge.

"Are you going to lie down?" Logan laughed "It tends to make the sleeping thing a bit easier…"

"I just feel…weird" Rory said looking at him.

"Well don't, we've slept in the same bed a lot of times" Logan reasoned.

Rory bit her lip. "But this is a bit different isn't it?"

"Doesn't have to be?" Logan said. "Just relax…" he said as pulled Rory down and wrapped his arms around her.

Rory listened to Logan's breathing slowing down. She had her back to him but she knew that he had fallen asleep. She was finally starting to feel sleepy herself and all she could think about as her eyelids were getting heavier was how good it felt to be lying there, wrapped in Logan's arms.


	21. Love Exists

The next morning Rory woke up and in her sleepy haze, she briefly wondered where she was. She soon realised that she was in Logan's room and it was his arm that was lazily draped across her. He was still fast asleep so Rory carefully lifted his arm and slipped out of bed. She'd had pretty much the best night's sleep that she'd managed in a really long time. There was something so comforting and familiar about sleeping in the same bed as Logan but seeing as they were still just being ultra casual in the dating stages, she now felt a little uneasy about it and worried whether it was perhaps blurring the lines a little too much.

She didn't want to wake him, so she quietly left the room and went to get Lily out of bed. She took her downstairs for a quick breakfast before getting them both dressed and heading out into the morning sunshine for a walk. She didn't really know where she was going; she just knew that she needed to clear her head a little before she saw Logan, mainly because she was scared that her kneejerk reaction would be to push him away.

As Rory walked with Lily, at a very slow toddler pace, she thought about everything that had happened recently. It had been less than six months that Logan had wandered back into her life and in some ways, it felt like he'd never been away. If someone had told her six months ago that she'd be living with Logan and they'd be playing happy families she would have thought they were crazy but here she was doing exactly that and as much as she was scared to admit to herself, she loved it. Even though it had only been a week, she already hated the thought that one day that might change. All that really remained was to decide once and for all what sort of relationship they were going to have moving forward.

When she got back from her brief walk Logan was sitting at the kitchen counter drinking his morning coffee. He looked up when she walked into the room and smiled at her.

"Morning Ace, where have you been?" he asked.

"Oh, Lily and I just thought we'd get some fresh air. It's a lovely morning" Rory said pouring herself some coffee. "Top-up?" she asked Logan waving the jug at him.

He shook his head. "Is everything okay Ace?" he asked carefully. Logan still knew Rory well enough to know that she was probably having some sort of internal battle about having slept in the same bed the night before.

"Everything's fine" Rory smiled breezily.

"Did you sleep better?" Logan said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Oh yeah, I slept really well, thanks. Amazing how much brighter you feel after a good nights sleep" she said sitting down next to him at the counter.

"So…any plans for today? I thought I'd work on getting those bookcases set up in the study."

"You mean you're going to pay someone to come around and work on getting the bookcases up, right?" Rory eyed Logan suspiciously.

"No, I'm going to do it" he laughed.

"Oh wow. I do have plans actually but now I wish I could stay here just to witness you go into battle with the flatpack and a screwdriver" Rory joked.

"Aww Ace, that's mean. I'll have you know I did it all myself in Palo Alto. I'm a pro" Logan said pretending to be hurt. "What's your big plans anyhow?"

"I'm meeting up with Steph for lunch today." Rory smiled.

"Really? Wow, I have not seen Steph in…ages" Logan said as he tried to remember just how long it had been.

"Yeah, me neither, not since before graduation, but well she's in town and we recently connected on Facebook, so we thought we'd have a quick lunch and catch up on each other's lives."

"That will be nice" Logan nodded "You want me to look after Lily while you go? I'm just going to be hanging around here all day."

"No it's fine" Rory smiled "I'll take her along, I think Steph is really keen to meet her and see who she takes after, but I think we both know the answer to that one!"

* * *

"Rory!" Steph jumped up when Rory walked into the coffee shop in New Haven. They decided to meet in one of their old haunts from their Yale days. "Oh my God, you look amazing!"

"Oh I don't know about that" Rory laughed "Steph it's so good to see you!" she said giving her friend a warm hug. "It's been way too long!"

"Well I'm on really only on a flying visit but when Colin and Finn caught me up on all your news…." Steph said tilting her head towards a sleeping Lily. "Life has changed a fair bit since I last saw you"

"Ah yes," Rory said nervously "you could say that."

"She's gorgeous Rory," Steph said to her friend sincerely. "She really looks like Logan!"

Rory looked down at her daughter sleeping in the stroller next to her. There was no denying it, she was very much like her father and bore more than a passing resemblance. The main difference being that she had inherited her own blue eyes but the cheeky smile that was often displayed on her face, that was all Logan.

"So how is that all going? I mean, I know Logan only recently found out…but Finn tells me that you're living together now? That's some development!"

Rory laughed. She knew to the outside world everyone would think that it had been a crazy decision but Rory wasn't regretting it at all. It seemed the right thing to do.

"It's actually going well. Lily really loves Logan, she's taken to him so well and he's great with her. The living together thing, well it's pretty early days but so far, so good."

"That's great. Are you guys…" Steph asked tentatively.

Rory shook her head "No we're not together. I mean, we're kind of dating but we're taking things slowly."

"But you've….you know. Right?" Steph winked and Rory knew exactly what she was getting at.

"How did you know?!" Rory exclaimed.

"I didn't, but you've just confirmed it, so thanks" Steph laughed. "Oh come on, I know you and Logan, Rory. There's no way you two can be in close quarters without at least dry humping for part of the day."

"Well you're wrong," Rory said defiantly. "Because actually, yes, we did sleep together but only once and that was a while ago when I was still living with my grandparents."

"And nothing since?" Steph raised an eyebrow.

"No! What do you take us for? We do have some willpower you know."

"I'm just surprised…Finn said you were dating…"

"We are but that's just it at the moment, just dating. I mean, we're not seeing other people or anything, it quickly became obvious that wasn't going to work for us but we kiss a little but that's really it, for now." Rory said gulping her coffee down. "I slept in his bed with him last night…" she added.

"And he didn't jump on you? Wow, maybe Logan has changed more than I thought!"

"He knows that's not where we are right now…" Rory shrugged.

"So where are you? Because you're dating, you're living in the same house – to the outside world that looks like you are pretty much together and talking to Finn, it sounds like Logan wants you to be together."

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing" Steph shook her head "Just…be careful Rory. Logan is a good guy and he cares about you. He doesn't deserve to be led down the garden path if it's only going to hit a dead end if you get my meaning"

"I…" Rory hesitated. She didn't really know what to say. Did Logan's friends think she was messing him about? Was she?

Rory's cell phone rang on the table next to her. "Oh speaking of the devil…sorry, Steph, it's Logan, I had better take this" she said.

"Hey Logan, everything okay?" Rory said as she answered the call.

"Do you want to go out tonight? Mom offered to sit with Lily and I thought it would be nice for her to spend some time with her and there's the added bonus of a date night for us…" Logan trailed off.

"Yeah sure, that would be really nice."

"Great, well I've got a few things to do and I've got to head out for a bit, but I'll be back by about 7 and then we'll go out? I'll make a reservation somewhere ." Logan said.

Rory smiled as she ended the call and Steph looked at her.

"Hot date" Steph teased.

"Something like that" Rory laughed and rolled her eyes.

"That boy still loves you know, you gotta throw him a rope," Steph said, raising an eyebrow at Rory.

* * *

Later that evening Rory and Logan headed out to dinner. Rory was glad that Logan had just picked somewhere semi-casual as she hadn't really been in the mood for dressing up for a bit night out. He had taken her to a place called the Arch Street Tavern, a local watering hole and restaurant with live music. That night they had a band playing that was a mix of rock and folk. It was noisy and raucous and Rory loved it for being so far away from the 5* restaurants and high society events that she often found herself attending these days.

"This place is great Logan. How did you find it?" Rory said as she took a big bite out of her burger.

"Finn of course." Logan laughed "He knows all the places to go"

"Well, it's great, just what I need – music, junk food and beer." She said taking a swig out of her bottle "and I have big plans for dancing later"

Logan smiled, he was glad that Rory was enjoying the place he had picked for their date tonight. He had just wanted to take her somewhere less formal, where they could relax and just have fun.

"How was lunch with Steph?" Logan asked as he poured Rory some more beer.

"It was…nice," Rory said carefully. She'd enjoyed catching up with her friend immensely, but Steph had said a few things, which had played on her mind a bit.

"Logan, can I talk to you about something," Rory said wiping her hands on her napkin.

"Of course," Logan said as he looked at Rory with concern at the serious tone in her voice.

"Steph said something today and it's kind of made me feel a little uneasy." Rory chewed on her lip.

"Oh yeah?" Logan asked.

"I think…" she started before she paused and continued, " I think that she thinks I'm leading you on."

Logan looked at Rory and put his knife and fork down. "And you think that's what I think?"

Rory shrugged "Maybe. I don't know."

"Look, Rory, I don't think that. We both wanted to take things slowly, I mean we've both had issues to overcome…"

Rory smiled uneasily "It's just that…well…it's taking me a while to get my head around you being back you know, being here with us and actually being Lily's father and a part of her life and now I feel that you're just waiting around for me to get used to all of this."

Logan reached for Rory's hand, he could see that she was a little uncomfortable having this conversation.

"Rory, when I first found out about Lily I was so mad…" he paused and Rory looked down at the table. "…and I didn't really think that we'd ever be able to salvage a relationship of any type. I didn't even think we could be friends again, but we are and we've spent a lot of time together and now we're sharing a home and it's good, right? It's not just me that feels that?"

He looked at Rory who nodded without looking up at him, before he continued "I'm not going to lie, one day I'd like to see if we can take this further but that's going to be whenever you're ready. I'll wait because I think that you're worth the wait" he winked. "In the meantime, don't worry about what other people think because this isn't about them – it's about what is right for us, and our daughter."

Rory looked up and smiled. Logan had said everything that she had wanted to hear.

"Thanks, Logan, it really means a lot to hear you say that, and for what it's worth, I am getting there you know." She smiled as she squeezed his hand. "And you're right, everything is good. It's more than good."


	22. The Only One

Rory had felt a lot better after her heart-to-heart with Logan at the bar, as awkward as it had been, she'd needed to have the conversation. Her uneasy feeling had gone away after that they'd been a bit more honest which other. Now that they'd been in the house for a couple of weeks they had settled into an easy routine of living alongside each other.

Despite her initial reservations Rory did have to admit to herself that everything was going incredibly well. It was just so comfortable and easy, and it's was also a lot of fun. Spending time as a family with Lily was something that Rory couldn't put a price tag on and it made her heart swell to see Logan and Lily together.

She was enjoying dating Logan but they'd still not restarted a physical relationship and after the one night she had slept with him in his bed, they'd not done it again, each going back to their own rooms and sleeping alone. Logan was being so very patient with her and she was grateful for this.

Now that they had finally settled into the house and got things organized in the way that they wanted, they decided to have a few of their friends around for a small house-warming get-together. Over the course of the day they'd had visits from most of their family and now moving into the late evening they found themselves sitting around with the old crowd from Yale. Lorelai had whisked Lily back to Stars Hollow for the night, desperate for some time with her grandaughter. Luckily Steph was still in town and Colin flew back in for the weekend from California. Finn, Rosemary, Robert and Juliet had all managed to make it along too. It was a long time since they'd all been in the same room and they were having a great evening, laughing and joking about some of the things they had got up to in the past.

"Anyone want another drink?" Logan asked as he picked up the bottle of scotch that the boys were enthusiastically making their way through and the expensive champagne the girls had opted for. "Ah damn," he said looking into the bucket "we're out of ice".

"I'll get it," Rory said as she stood up and picked the ice bucket up.

"Are you sure?" Logan said. "I don't mind going…"

"Yeah, it's fine I want to go call mom to check on Lily anyhow. I'll be back in a few minutes," she said as walked into the kitchen.

Logan watched her appreciatively as she walked out of the room. She'd dressed up for the occasion, excited to be hosting friends, and was wearing a red silk dress, that gently skimmed her curves. She'd kicked off her shoes and released her hair from the clip that had been holding it in place. She looked relaxed and happy and he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her for most of the day, something that didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

Finn nudged him in the side "Put your tongue away mate"

"What?!" Logan said as he turned around to look at him.

"Come on Logan. You're practically undressing the poor girl with your eyes" Rosemary laughed.

"I am not!" he said defensively.

"Ah what's the matter, still not getting any Huntz?" Colin said knocking back the rest of his scotch.

"That's none of your business" Logan snapped.

"We'll take that as a no then" Colin smirked as Steph playfully hit him.

"What's really going on with you guys?" Juliet asked, "You're not together but you act just like an old married couple."

"And therein explains their lack of sex" Finn joked.

"You know exactly what's going on…" Logan started to say before Steph interrupted.

She rolled her eyes. "They're just 'dating'" she said using air-quotes to get her message across. "Despite the fact that he's madly in love with her and she's madly in love with him but neither of them has the kahunas to admit it to each other so they're just going to carry on in denial wasting all this time when they could be having more fun tearing the clothes off each other." She said as she downed the rest of her champagne emptying her glass. "Oops" she hiccupped "Warning sign".

Logan shook his head. "You guys are a nightmare…now ssh" he said as he heard Rory hang up the phone in the kitchen.

Rory walked back into the room with the ice bucket. She could tell that she had stopped a conversation and knew that they were probably talking about her from the way they looked at her.

"Did I interrupt something?" she joked trying to defuse the slightly awkward atmosphere she said as she put the ice down on the table.

"Of course not" Logan winked as she sat next to him and he handed her a glass of champagne. "How is Lily?"

"She's fine" Rory nodded as she took a sip of her champagne. "Oh! I almost forget to tell you" she exclaimed "Lily finally managed to call Luke 'Pops', he's thrilled. I'm so happy because it means so much to him and she's been trying to say it for ages." she smiled happily at Logan.

"Wow, our clever daughter will be banging down the door of MIT before we know it." He joked. He slipped his arm around her shoulder. "That's really great Ace."

"I know, right," she said turning to him as she subconsciously placed her hand on his thigh. Logan moved his free hand to rest on top of hers. They were too busy wrapped up in their own little world to notice the knowing looks and eyebrow-raising that was going on amongst their friends who were witnessing the exchange in front of them.

The doorbell rang and Finn jumped up. "I hate to disrupt this little thing you've got going on here but I do believe that is the food".

"Oh yes," Rory pulled her hand away from Logan quickly suddenly very self-conscious. She'd barely realised that they were touching, it felt so normal to her. "I'll go get some plates, Logan can you go deal with the food?" she said as she hurried out of the room.

"Oh my God Logan" Juliet laughed "You two are just the sweetest"

"Mate," Finn said as he put his hand on Logan's shoulder "You need to deal with that, I don't know what you are messing about at"

* * *

One of the biggest advantages Rory had found to them living to together was that having Logan around was making it much easier to study, leaving her more time to spend in the relative peace and quiet of the library.

Rory entered the apartment and dropped her bags onto the floor. She'd had a really long day in the library at Yale, it hadn't been her most productive day and she was glad to be home.

The house was in darkness which she found a bit odd, seeing as it was only 9 pm. She got herself a drink of water and then went looking for Logan but stopped off at Lily's room on the way. She looked in at her daughter and smiled when she could see her peacefully sleeping, cuddled up to the pink rabbit toy that Logan had bought her. Rory was a little bit sad that she had missed bedtime but happy that Lily had Logan to read her umpteen stories before bed. That little girl had her daddy wrapped around her finger!

Rory crossed the landing to Logan's room and tapped lightly before opening the door to find him lying on his bed watching a movie. Logan looked up with a smile.

"Hey, Ace, how did studying go? Did you get much done?"

"Yeah, I got quite a lot done this evening, thanks for taking care of Lily," she said hovering by the door.

"You know you don't have to thank me for looking after our daughter," Logan said.

Rory smiled. "What are you watching?" she said as she looked over at the TV.

"The Godfather. You want to come watch?" Logan asked, patting the bed.

"Sure," Rory said as she walked over and joined him.

"So how did studying really go?" Logan could tell that Rory was a bit weary.

"Not as well as it could, nothing seemed to stick today. I'm so tired" she yawned.

"Tomorrow's another day," Logan said as he pulled Rory down so she could snuggle into him. She gently rested her head on his chest while he absentmindedly played with hair. She loved this feeling and she reached over to his other hand and intertwined her fingers with his while they watched the remainder of the film.

When the film finished Rory sat up. "I had better go get some sleep, I've got another long day tomorrow".

"Stay here," Logan said keeping hold of her hand.

"What?!" she said as she turned around to look at him.

"Stay here" he pleaded.

"Logan..." Rory hesitated.

"Give me one good reason why you can't stay?"

Rory bit down on her lip. There were a million reasons why she shouldn't stay swimming around her head but at that very moment, she could think of at least a million more reasons of why she wanted to.

Sensing that she could be very easily convinced at that moment, Logan gently pulled her down and kissed her, slowly sliding his hand down her body and under her t-shirt. Rory gasped at his touch.

"Logan are you sure about this…I mean the last time we did this you kind of ran out and you left me feeling…"

Logan interrupted Rory "That's not going to happen" he uttered as he rained kisses down on her. "Plus where would I go, we live together now remember."

"That's true" Rory smiled as Logan kissed her neck before he stopped and looked up at her.

"But Rory, if we do this, there's no going back, we have to move forward."

Rory didn't answer him. She simply took his face in her hands and pulled him into a deep passionate kiss. They didn't need any more words.

Logan's hands tangled in Rory's hair, gently pulling her body closer to his. She pulled herself away from him and quickly removed her t-shirt and jeans. As she lay in front of him in just her black lacy bra and boy shorts, Logan looked at her with passion-filled eyes. All he could think about in that moment was just how beautiful she was. He revelled in the fact that this perfect, amazing woman who could possibly have any man of her choosing, wanted him.

Rory pulled Logan down towards her and her hands reached out to find the waistband of the sweat pants he had been wearing in bed before pushing them down roughly. Logan reached around to unfasten her bra and ducked down to kiss gently in between her breasts before he softly took one of her nipples in his mouth making Rory gasp. He moved further down her body and removed her boy shorts in one swift move before slowly sliding his hand between her legs to test her readiness. Rory let out a moan at this contact and they both knew that neither of them could wait any longer.

Logan reached over to his bedside cabinet to retrieve a condom before quickly rolling it into place. When their bodies finally came together, Rory looked up at him with her sparkling blue eyes and smiled, almost shyly. Logan returned the smile and without breaking eye contact he began to move in and out painstakingly slowly. Rory closed her eyes as she focused on the pleasurable sensation, before opening them again to look at Logan. Every movement, every yearning was reflected between them.

"God Rory, I have missed this so much, missed your hands on my body…missed being deep inside you" he whispered.

Rory slid her hands down his back, smoothing over his ass and feeling his slow thrusting beneath her touch. She looked at him as they moved together and she could see so much emotion in his eyes – he looked at her if she was the only woman on earth and she loved it. She wanted more of this, she wanted more of them.

Knowing that he was getting close, Logan pulled out of Rory and she groaned at the loss of contact. He slid his hand back between her legs and slowly stroked and teased her. It was almost as much as she could take and sensing from her breathing that she was nearly as close as he was, he pushed back inside her, this time thrusting faster until they both crashed over the precipice.

In the aftermath, they lay, wrapped in each other's arms as they slowly floated back to reality.

"Rory, I love you," Logan murmured softly, brushing his lips against hers. "I've always loved you.

Rory's breath hitched at hearing him say the words but she knew that she felt exactly the same.

"I love you too Logan."


	23. Together Again

Rory and Logan slept blissfully wrapped in each other's arms all night. When they awoke the next day, Logan smiled to himself as he remembered the actions and words from the night before. There had been a definite shift, finally one in the right direction. He felt Rory stirring next to him and so he leaned in to kiss her but she quickly put her hand over her mouth and pushed him away.

"Eww don't, I've got morning breath," she said hiding her face from him.

"Ace, I've waited a really long time to get to kiss you in bed again, a little thing like morning breath is not going to put me off now is it" he laughed.

"No, no, no, can't do it," Rory said as she jumped out of his bed.

Logan threw himself back down on the pillow and laughed as she rushed off to brush her teeth.

"Now I am ready!" she said as she climbed back into bed and leaned in towards him.

"Ready for what?" Logan said as he pulled her back into his arms.

"In Omnia Paratus" she winked.

"I'm just going to go grab a shower. Can you sort breakfast for Lily?" Rory asked as she got out of bed for the second time that morning. It had been a long time since she'd received a 'good morning' like that and she was now all hot and sweaty, not that she would complain about it too much, she had enjoyed every minute of getting herself into that state.

"Sure. Where are you going?" Logan asked her as she walked out of the room.

"To my bathroom…" she pointed.

"You know, we could share a bathroom. I mean, we already know that you like my bed. What do you say Ace?" Logan decided as things were going well, he might just push his luck a little further.

"No," Rory said as she folded her arms.

"No?" Logan looked at Rory confused.

"My bedroom and bathroom are way bigger than yours, if we're going to share, you're moving into mine" she winked as she left the room.

Logan watched Rory leave. Finally, everything he had ever wanted was coming together for him. He thought over the events of the past twelve hours and couldn't believe that it actually appeared like they were finally on the same page. Sure, they still needed to have an actual conversation about a few things but so far, so good.

Rory stood under the warm water and let it trickle over her soothingly. She couldn't help but think that her life had changed dramatically since yesterday, though for the first time, she really wasn't scared of anything that might lie ahead. She had listened when Logan had said that there was no going back and that they had to move forward and she agreed with him. It had taken her a long time to admit it to herself but this is what she wanted. It is what she had dreamed about ever since they walked away from each other at her graduation.

* * *

Rory came down from the shower to find Lily all fed and playing on the floor happily with her toys. She walked over to the kitchen counter to pour herself a coffee. Logan came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She smiled and leant back into him while he kissed her and nuzzled into her neck.

"So originally I had been planning to take you out tonight but I thought maybe it would be nicer to stay in and watch a movie or something."

"Oh you did, did you?" Rory smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean get a nice take-out, a bottle of wine…" Logan laughed.

"Yeah that sounds nice," she said. "I'd like that. I'm going to go to take Lily to Stars Hollow to see my mom for a bit, but I'll be back later…" she trailed off as she wondered whether she should be inviting Logan to come along or not. "I mean…you're welcome to come if you want, not that you have to but…" Rory inwardly cursed herself for rambling.

"It's fine Ace, you go see your mom, I'm sure you have lots to talk about."

Rory nodded. There would be lots to talk about. Lorelai was bound to give her the third degree when she found out about Logan but right now Rory wasn't quite sure what she should say and she definitely didn't want Logan around for that conversation, in case she said the wrong thing. She knew that they were moving forward but as yet she wasn't entirely sure in what capacity. She hoped everything would become clearer to her soon.

* * *

"Awww my grandbaby!" Lorelai stretched out her open arms as Lily toddled up to her. "Ooh you look happy" she eyed up Rory. "Did you do something dirty?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mom "Well…."

"Ooh, you did! Come in and tell momma all about it" Lorelai said as she walked into the house.

"I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate mother…I'm certainly not going to tell you ALL about it."

"You can at least give me the abridged version?" Lorelai said hopefully.

"Well, it's pretty safe to say that things are kind of back on with Logan."

"On?" Lorelai said, "Oooooooooooooh you mean on, on." Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "You did the nasty with your baby daddy again didn't you?"

"Mom! Don't call him that." Rory exclaimed.

"Ooh protective!" Lorelai laughed. "So you've finally realized that you're meant to be together, huh. My mother will be over-the-moon, she'll be picking out china patterns for you as soon as she gets wind of this."

"Something like that…but it's very new so I wouldn't go buying a fancy hat just yet." Rory rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, you and Logan, you're making a proper go of it? It seems to have happened quite suddenly?"

"Not really, I guess we've been kind of working up to it for a while and I've been a little hesitant but…" Rory paused.

"….but?" Lorelai encouraged her daughter to continue.

"But I love him. I really do and I'm not really sure why I was holding back" Rory shrugged. "He told me he that he loved me last night and it just felt….right"

"Well I am happy for you kiddo, I really am," Lorelai said sincerely. "I'm glad that you've managed to work everything out but…" she hesitated for a moment. Lorelai wanted to choose her words carefully and was conscious that she didn't want to upset her daughter. Rory looked at her expectantly. "….but, without being too much of a buzz kill, what does this actually mean?"

"Huh?" Rory asked, a bit confused.

"Well, are you just dating and sleeping together or is this something more serious, like with long-term potential?"

"Oh. I…we…well we've not really discussed the exact parameters of the relationship as yet…but the second one I guess."

"You were too busy huh" Lorelai wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

* * *

"How was your mom?" Logan asked as Rory and Lily walked through the front door.

"Oh you know, her usual self, chomping at the bit to get all the info…and all my sordid secrets," Rory said as she placed Lily down on the floor. Lily walked over to Logan and climbed on his lap.

"You have sordid secrets Ace?" Logan joked.

Rory rolled her eyes "I think my mom thinks my life is more exciting than it actually is and likes to live vicariously through me…" she said as she sat down on the sofa next to them. "Did you order the take out? I'm so hungry."

"Not yet, I was wasn't sure what you wanted so thought I'd wait. Why don't you get some menus out while I give Lily a bath and put her to bed?" he said as he stood up to lead Lily up the stairs.

Rory went to the kitchen and dug out all the menus to try and make a decision on what they should have for dinner. As she looked through them, she could hear Lily and Logan splashing around upstairs. She was pretty sure that Logan enjoyed the bathtime routine more than Lily.

"What did you order?" Logan asked as he came down the stairs in a fresh set of clothes – his earlier ones receiving a drenching from his daughter.

"Mexican" Rory said "I just ordered a few different things and we can pick and choose…Is Lily all settled?"

"She certainly is. Nothing like an afternoon with Lorelai to wear her out." Logan joked as he poured Rory a glass of wine.

Later that evening, after the Mexican food had been devoured, the movie had been watched and the wine had been drunk, Rory lay relaxing on the sofa with her head on Logan's lap.

"So…." Logan started but stopped what he was going to say.

"So….?" Rory repeated.

"We're going to do this? I mean, you and me, we're really going to do this?" Logan asked carefully.

"I guess so!" Rory smiled.

"Wow," Logan said as he fiddled with her hair.

Logan paused for a moment. He had something he wanted to talk to Rory about. He wasn't quite sure how to bring it up without perhaps causing a bit of upset and while everything was going so well, he didn't want to rock the boat but he wasn't comfortable entering into a relationship with her with important things left unsaid.

"Rory, can I ask you something?"

"Uh-oh, that sounds serious," she said sitting up.

"I guess it is kind of…but I don't want to freak you out at all. It's just something on my mind and I need to get it out now, right when we're just starting." Logan said. "I think it's important that everything is out in the open."

"Okay…" Rory said hesitantly. She wondered where Logan was going with this and what was on his mind.

Logan looked her in the eyes. "I want to know where you see this, us, going. I mean, not immediately of course, but in the future."

"I…I guess I've not really thought about it that much" Rory said. "I mean, this is new and…" she trailed off.

Logan took a deep breath before posing his next question. It was a difficult topic of conversation for him having been the source of his pain for many months but it was something he needed to know the answer to.

"Do you think that you will ever want to get married? And let me just be clear before you run screaming for the hills…" he joked "…this isn't me asking you right now."

Rory sighed. "Logan, I've always wanted to marry you, you know that was never the issue" she shook her head. "I was never able to picture my future with anyone else and sure, I guess I would like to get married at some point." she paused before she continued. "I regretted our break-up, Logan, I didn't want that to be the end for us. I wasn't saying 'no' I was just saying 'not now'."

"So it would be something that you'd perhaps want in the future?" Logan asked.

She nodded. "My priorities have changed a little since graduation, obviously, I've still not established any sort of career and if I was to become a Huntzberger…" she trailed off nervously. It sounded too weird to even think about calling herself a Huntzberger.

"Rory, you are an excellent writer and anywhere you get a job will be completely on your own merit. You're more than qualified. It's not nepotism if you're qualified for the job!" Logan knew that Rory had never wanted to use him or his family to further her career.

"I know, but I really would hate to think people think that I've only got a job because of who I am married to and not because I am actually good at it" she sighed. "And now you're the CEO, it's going to be even worse" she grimaced.

"You don't have to work within HPG Rory, though if I am being really honest, I do kind of agree that you'll probably find it hard to work outside of the group, given your connections but you know that I will absolutely support you in working wherever you want."

Rory nodded, she knew that Logan would be behind whatever she wanted to do and it was one the reasons she loved him and could picture some sort of future for them.

"Though, it goes without saying that I'd be thrilled to have you working with me" he smiled "and there would definitely be some perks to sleeping with the boss – flexible working, expense accounts, corner office…" he laughed as Rory playfully slapped him on this chest. "I'm serious though Ace, don't dismiss it as an option before you've really even considered it, you could still have an amazing career and there would be a lot fewer sacrifices to make when it comes to Lily."

Rory knew that Logan was right. Since having Lily her priorities had changed. There was no way she could consider being an overseas correspondent now and even the thought of any travel for work kind of put her off. She knew that if she took a job with HPG, as much as she hated admitting it, it would work in her favor when it came to securing a working pattern she was happy with.

"Well, it's still some way off yet, I've got to finish grad school yet and that feels like an impossible task." Rory pulled a face. Grad school was a lot harder than she had anticipated, especially when there was a small child in the mix.

"But you'll get there," Logan said confidently.

"I know, it just seems like a long way off and I guess that's why I find it hard really to think much further into the future, but Logan, I do want you to be part of it, whatever happens," Rory said as she leaned in to kiss him gently on the lips.

"So we're on the same page?" he questioned, looking straight into her eyes.

"Definitely on the same page" she smiled.


	24. Everything Has Changed

"Logan, Rory, it's so very lovely to see you," Shira said with a saccharine sweet smile as she greeted the couple.

A couple of days had passed since they had achieved the 'official' status in their relationship and after a lovely few days spent in their own little bubble of happiness, they had decided it was time to start sharing the good news with their friends and family.

Rory still wasn't quite used to this new and improved version of Shira so was always a little on her guard.

"Oh Lily, come to grandma," Shira said excitedly with her arms outstretched.

Rory watched as Lily bounded over towards Shira. As much as she would have hoped that any daughter of hers had a better judgement of character, Lily clearly loved Shira and far be it for Rory to get in the way of that. She might have her own strained relationship with Logan's parents but she was never going to come in between the little girl and her grandparents if they were so willing to accept her. She had, after all, had her own taste of what that was like with the Haydens'.

"Drink?" Mitchum asked them as they walked into the room.

"Sure, I'll have a scotch" Logan said "Rory, martini?"

She nodded and smiled in response. "Thanks, that would be nice"

"So it's lovely that you decided to join us for dinner tonight…" Shira started saying.

"Well in the interest of being completely altruistic, we came because we wanted to tell you something," Logan said before his mother could say any more.

"Oh?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Rory and I," Logan said as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand "We're officially back together."

"Well, it's about time!" Mitchum laughed as he handed the couple their drinks.

Logan looked at his father in surprise.

"Oh come on Logan, it was only a matter of time. You two have never been able to stay apart for very long. And you live together…"

It was true, and both Rory and Logan knew it themselves. Though neither had would admit it they knew from the start that the friend thing was never going to work out for them.

"This is fabulous!" Honor said as she smiled at her brother and jumped up to hug Rory.

"Yes, it's lovely news" Shira smiled "You act like a proper family now".

Rory couldn't quite tell if Shira was being sincere or not but she smiled along anyway, happy at the thought of them being a family. She had been so caught up in the whole 'making things official with Logan' that she hadn't really considered that part of it, but of course, now they were back to together they really were a family for the first time.

"Logan, I don't mean to talk shop but as you are here, there are a few things I could do with going through, have you got a minute?" Mitchum asked his son, as he gestured towards his study.

"Ace, do you mind if I…" Logan asked. He didn't want Rory to think he was abandoning her but his parents seemed to be much better at controlling themselves these days so it didn't really worry him as much as it used to.

"It's fine" she smiled "You go"

"Out gamma," Lily said as she looked up at Shira, pleading with the sparkling blue eyes that matched her mom's.

Shira looked at Rory and gasped "Did she…?"

"Yes, she did. That's you, she just can't quite manage 'grandma' yet. I think she wants you to take her outside."

"Oh, Lily!" Shira said as she gave her a squeeze. "Come on," she said as she put out her hand "grandma will take you outside."

Rory watched them leave the room. She still found it hard to believe just how easily the Huntzberger's had accepted Lily.

Honor shuffled up next to Rory on the sofa. "So….! Tell me everything! How come you and my brother are suddenly back at the top of the Hartford power couple list.

"It's just one of those things you know, we…" Rory couldn't finish her sentence because Honor had interrupted.

"….had sex," Honor said, matter of factly.

"Honor!" Rory squealed.

Honor rolled her eyes. "Don't be so coy, these things always start the same, you can tell me."

"Okay, well, yes. We'd kind of been getting a bit closer for a while, you know, going out on a few dates but the other day we were just watching a movie and well, one thing lead to another…" Rory paused.

Honor put her hand up "Okay, actually I don't need those details so skip forward…"

Rory laughed "And it just felt right. Like something clicked into place."

"This is just the best news. The best news!" Honor said as she clapped her hands together. "I can officially start calling you my sister again now."

"Slow down" Rory laughed at Honor's excitement. "I'm not sure we're quite there yet!"

"Are you kidding me? I'm pretty sure Logan would elope tomorrow if he thought you were up for it." Honor winked.

"I think we should probably see how this goes first don't you?" Rory said as she supped her martini.

Honor grinned and gave Rory a knowing look.

After they had all enjoyed dinner, Logan and Rory made moves to leave.

"Can you stay for drinks?" his mother asked them.

"Sorry, we've got to go, we're meeting Finn and Rosemary for a bit." Rory smiled. "And we've got to drop Lily off with Marta for the night first."

"Oh no don't do that!" Shira exclaimed "She can stay here with us. I'd love to have her."

Rory looked at Logan and Logan shrugged back at her. He had no objection to Lily staying with his parents, but he wanted Rory to make the decision on this one. He wanted her to be entirely comfortable.

"Sure, okay, I'll just need to make a call." Rory smiled and headed outside to stand Marta down.

* * *

"That went well, don't you think? Rory said as she clipped in her seatbelt.

Logan put the keys in the ignition but didn't start the engine. He turned to Rory.

"Rory, why didn't you tell me you were applying for jobs?"

"What?" she looked at him in surprise.

When Mitchum had asked Logan to come to his study to talk, he thought it was going to be about HPG. What he hadn't been prepared for was a conversation about Rory's future career. Mitchum had wanted to speak to him because he had been asked to provide a reference for Rory from a newspaper that was going to offer her an interview. Logan hadn't been aware that Rory had been applying for jobs or even thinking about returning to work and he'd felt a little bit embarrassed in front of his father that he hadn't been kept in the loop. For once it actually seemed that Mitchum was on his side and rather than stirring up any trouble, he was actually acting out of concern for his son.

"My dad was asked for a reference today…"

"Oh," Rory bit her lip, suddenly realising what Logan was referring to.

"You never mentioned that you wanted to start working or that you were even sending out applications? I mean, just the other day we were just talking about it…"

"It was one application and this was from before we were even a thing. In fact, it's been so long I had kind of forgotten about it." Rory smiled nervously.

"The Washington Post? Are you considering moving to Washington? Logan said quietly.

"Yeah, I mean, I was. It felt like a real long shot but I saw a great job opportunity for a political features intern come up and I kind of feel that I am ready to get back into my career…so I just applied."

"What about grad school?" Logan asked.

"I'm nearly done with that and I figured I might be able to finish alongside but it's not really a big deal. I never thought I'd get past the initial resume sift, to be honest."

"But it is a big deal Rory because if you get offered this job, you'll be moving to Washington, which is what, a seven-hour drive?"

"Logan" Rory shook her head, "I told you," she said as he put her hand on his "We're on the same page and I mean that. I applied for this job before I knew that this – us – was even going to happen."

"So what are you saying?" he looked at her.

"Everything has changed now. I'm saying that DC is off the cards. I'll decline the interview when they call."

"But, if that's what you really want to do…" There was no way on earth Logan wanted to see Rory, and by default, Lily moving away from him now but he was really aware that he couldn't stand in her way if there was something she really wanted. He had promised to support her choices and he had meant it.

"Logan, what I really want to do is be with my family. Do you remember when we said we'd factor each other; well this is me factoring you in. They'll be other opportunities. Hopefully closer to home." she said as she leant over to kiss him softly on the lips.

"Well I do own the Hartford Courant you know…" he said as he kissed her back. "It's not quite The Washington Post but it's a short commute and the boss is great".

"Hmm, we'll talk about that another time…" Rory said. Logan knew how she felt about him handing her a job. "Now, I'm sorry this upset you but can we please forget about it and just go out and get drunk".

* * *

"Well, well, here they are – Connecticut's ultimate star-crossed lovers" Finn stood up and announced to nobody in particular. "Sit down kids, I've got the drinks in."

"Shots, already?" Rory said, "I remember how well that turned out for me last time, with a painful rejection if my somewhat hazy memory serves me right."

"No chance of that tonight Ace," Logan said as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Right you guys make me sick. I want you to sit at least three feet apart at all times" Finn said "And hands where I can see them Huntzberger!" he scolded as Rory let out a squeal.

After giving in to Finn and downing a couple more shots, Rory was happily tipsy and Rosemary finally dragged her up to dance. Finn and Logan sat in their booth watching the girls on the dancefloor.

"You and Rosemary huh?" Logan winked at his friend.

"I wish mate! I'm hoping I might wear her down tonight." Finn laughed "So you two finally sorted things out then?"

"Yeah," Logan said "We did"

He watched Rory out on the dancefloor having the time of her life with Rosemary. There were a lot of beautiful women in the room but he just couldn't take his eyes off her as she moved her body in time to the music. He loved to see her letting her hair down and having fun. It was so easy to forget that she was still so young and tonight, at twenty-four she was doing exactly what she should be doing, going out with friends, having a few drinks and letting off some steam. It was only when he could see some guy moving in to dance with Rory that Logan felt compelled to join her on the dance floor, even if Beyonce's Single Ladies wasn't really his thing. He couldn't sit there and watch as some other guy put his hands on his girlfriend's waist.

"Excuse me, may I dance with my girlfriend," he said to the guy who was grinding dangerously close to Rory. Rory looked at Logan with a twinkle in her eye, sometimes she really enjoyed him displaying his jealous streak.

"Oh sure," the guy said moving aside "My bad," he said winking at Rory.

Rosemary leant in "You know Logan, if you like it then you should have put a ring on it." She said laughing and singing at Logan.

"Oh, believe me, I tried," he said to Rosemary and raised a single eyebrow at Rory who laughed and put her arms around his neck.

"Just couldn't resist a bit of Beyonce huh"

"Something like that…" Logan said as he moved his lips closer to Rory's before pressing them against hers. She deepened the kiss and open her mouth slightly to invite him as she ran her hands through his hair. He responded by sliding his hand down her body and cheekily grabbed her ass with one hand.

Rory broke away and smiled "I like overprotective Logan…" she laughed "though I am slightly concerned that you might just give in and pee on me in order to mark your territory."

"I won't lie, the thought crossed my mind," he said with a laugh. "Come on let's get another drink," he said leading her by the hand and back to the booth where Finn had replenished the refreshments.

When they returned to the booth, Finn got up to go dance with Rosemary. Rory and Logan sipped their drinks and watched the two grinding against each other in time to the music. Despite all their protestations, the two were so madly into each other but neither of them would make the first move towards an actual relationship.

"Do you think he's going to score with her tonight?" Rory asked Logan.

"Ha, she'll probably lead him on all night and he'll end up going home alone, just like the old days"

Rory smiled. There was something about having a night off from being a mom that made her feel so young and carefree and reminded her of their college days.

"If my memory serves me correctly, they went home together on more than one occasion."

"As did we." Logan reminded her.

"Well if you're lucky, I might just go home with you tonight," she said suggestively.

"I'm counting on it," Logan said as he kissed her neck, slowly moving down towards her collarbone.

Rory breathed in slowly, enjoying the sensation. "Okay keep doing that and I am definitely going home with you"

"Good," Logan said as he slid his hand along her thigh and under her skirt.

"Logan!" Rory squealed. "Someone will see"

"I don't care," Logan said as he moved his hand higher and started fiddling with the edges of her panties.

Rory squirmed in her seat "Well I do! Voyeurism is not really my thing" she said breathlessly.

"Come on then" Logan jumped up "We need to get out of here quick," he said jumping up, taking her by the hand. He caught Finn's eye across the room and signalled that they were leaving and grabbing their coats on the way out he practically dragged Rory out of the door.


	25. The Moment I Knew

A few weeks had passed by since Rory and Logan had made things official and so far, things were going as well as either of them could have hoped. Logan was busy throwing himself into life at HPG while Rory was still attending Yale. Between them, they made a great team when it came to juggling the childcare along with Marta.

Rory was finding grad school and all the studying that came with a monumental effort and she was counting down the days to when it would all be over. She had been sat in the library at Yale all day and yet she felt like she had achieved nothing. Finally, by 6 pm she decided to throw in the towel and head home. She slammed her books shut and packed everything up before heading back to her car.

When she arrived back at their house, she opened the front door and dropped her bags next to it. She went into the living room to find Logan lying on the sofa with Lily watching a movie. She noticed that Lily, who was snuggling up to her daddy, was all bathed and ready for bed.

Logan looked up at her "Had a good day?" He could see from her face that things perhaps hadn't gone as well as she would have liked today.

"Not really," Rory said throwing herself down onto the sofa. "I don't see the point. I just feel like giving up. "

"Come on Ace, you're nearly at the finish line," he said as he rubbed her feet that she had placed on her lap.

"Yeah, I know" She sighed. "Anyway, let's not talk about it, I'm fed up of it all. I'm starving, what shall we do about dinner?"

"Dinner is all ready and on the stove. We've just got to get Lily into bed and then we'll eat. I just kept her up as I thought you might want to say goodnight to her." Logan said as Lily climbed off his lap and went to play with some toys on the floor.

Rory looked at Logan and she thought about how grateful she was that he was there to support her. It was the one real thing that she had missed when she was living alone with Lily – having someone there to come home to, someone you could talk to and someone who took care of everything when you were dead on your feet. She opened her mouth to say something but instead of words coming out, she let out a giant sob and immediately burst into tears.

Logan looked at her alarmed "Hey!" he said as he sat up to put his arm around her. "What's all this about? What's the matter?"

Rory brushed some of her tears away. "Sorry Logan, I'm just exhausted and am so lucky that I have you here. I couldn't do any of this without you."

"That's rubbish, you're one of the most capable people I know. Plus, you were doing it all before I came along. Where is all this coming from?"

"This" Rory threw her arms in the air "All of this. You made us a home even when I couldn't give you a definitive decision about us. You make me dinner when I am tired. You take care of Lily, you take such good care of her" she sniffed. "It's more than I ever expected of you. It's so much more than I deserve after the way I treated you." She added quietly.

"Ssh," he said as he wiped tears off her face. "This is crazy talk."

Rory shook her head. "You didn't have to do any of it."

"I do it because you're my family and I love you," Logan said.

"Logan, I love you too. I really do. I want you to know that."

"I do know that," he said as he kissed the top of her head.

"God, I'm sorry, what a mess I am. I'm just so emotional right now." Rory said wiping the last of her tears on her sleeve.

"Hey, Ace, why don't you go see your mom for a night? Leave Lily here with me and go have a Gilmore movie night with Lorelai. I think you could use some time out."

Rory smiled weakly "Are you going to put me on the naughty step too?"

"Only if you're very lucky" he winked. "Look, I'm going to take Lily up, why I don't I run you a bath so that you can have a soak before dinner?"

"See! This is what I mean!" Rory said with a smile. "Stop being so nice!"

Once he had got Lily into bed and Rory was upstairs relaxing in the tub, Logan took the opportunity to make a call to Lorelai to let her know that he was packing Rory off in her direction for some R&R. Lorelai was grateful for the call and assured Logan that she would look after Rory and help her relax for the night.

* * *

The next afternoon Rory made the short trip to Stars Hollow to see her mom. She felt a little bad, as she didn't want Logan to think she was abandoning him but it had been his idea and he had insisted that she go and have a break from everything, including all the studying and she was really grateful.

Rory knew that a night with her mom would be just the tonic she needed. She had a lot on her mind recently with the studying, thinking about her future career options and turning down the interview at The Washington Post. When she had originally applied for the job, Logan was really only just on the scene but once things had started to develop with him, she knew that it would no longer be an option for her. While Rory knew deep down that it was the right thing to do, she still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It felt like another setback on the road to the career that she had always wanted and had worked so hard towards. When she pulled up outside the house in Stars Hollow Lorelai was waiting on the porch for her.

"Expecting someone?" Rory asked.

"You my dear daughter!" Lorelai said with her arms outstretched.

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Premonition?"

"Logan," Lorelai said with a grimace.

"He called you!" Rory said exasperatedly.

"Last night" Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Come on baby girl," she said as she ushered her into the house.

"I can't believe Logan called you." Rory shook her head.

"Don't be mad kid, he was worried about you," Lorelai said with a small smile. 'That boy really cares about you."

While she didn't ever want to see her daughter in any sort of distress Lorelai was secretly happy that Logan had called her to speak to her. It gave her all sorts of hope for the future and confidence that they were all working towards a shared goal.

"What's going on Rory?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing really, I think that I just had a big overreaction to severe mental exhaustion," Rory said "I have no real reason to feel upset about anything" she shrugged.

Lorelai tilted her head to look at her daughter. "Things are okay with Logan?"

"Things are great with Logan. I think that might be part of the problem." Rory said looking down at the ground.

"It's a problem because…" Lorelai paused to encourage her daughter on.

"He's just so good to me. He does everything I need him to do, without me even having to ask him. He's so thoughtful all the time and he's just amazing with Lily." Rory rambled on as she started to get a bit teary. "I don't know, I am just struggling a bit at the moment. He's been wonderful and I still feel so guilty that I kept everything from him so long. I can't understand how he can just let it go."

"Because he loves you kiddo. And I think you're being way too harsh on yourself. You apologized for all of that and he's forgiven you. If he can do that don't you think it's time you forgave yourself?"

"Yeah maybe you're right" she sighed.

"Hey, where is all this coming from Ror?" Lorelai squeezed Rory's hand.

"Things are feeling pretty serious with Logan again, we've talked about a future together. I'm just nervous. Everything seems too good to be true and I feel like something will come along and screw everything up or he'll change his mind."

"I don't think he's going anywhere kiddo" Lorelai laughed.

Rory looked up at her mom. "I turned down a job interview a few weeks ago, in Washington. I was disappointed but we've talked about a future so there is no way that I could ever entertain moving away now, I could never take Lily away from him…and I guess I feel like my choices are limited which is something I so badly wanted to avoid."

"You're only thinking about Lily. What about you Rory? What do you want? The way I see it is if you want to be together, as a family, you're going to have to make sacrifices, both of you, and yes, that might mean having to rethink your career choices but it doesn't have to be all or nothing."

Later, Rory and Lorelai sat on the sofa watching a movie and eating their own weight in Chinese food. Rory's mind really hadn't been on the movie at all, but rather on the talk she'd had with Lorelai earlier that day. All of a sudden she jumped up, startling Lorelai.

"Jeez, Rory!" Lorelai said, "You scared the life out of me, what are you doing?"

"I've got to go," she said as she grabbed her bag "I need to talk to Logan."

"But…" Lorelai said confused.

"I'll call you later," Rory said as she ran out of the door.

* * *

By the time she got back to Hartford it was late. The house was in total darkness so Rory crept in quietly. She made her way up the stairs and carefully opened the door to Lily's room. She slowly walked over to the chair by the side of the bed and sat down, watching her daughter sleeping soundly.

As she looked at Lily lying in the bed, the complete mirror image of Logan, she thought about how this little girl had completely turned her life upside down.

When Logan had proposed to her at her graduation Rory had turned him down because she had wanted to keep her options open. She had felt that if she said yes, she would be held back in her career and the choices available to her would be limited.

What she didn't know at that time was that fate had already stepped in.

The moment she found out that she was pregnant, all those wide-open possibilities were snatched out from underneath her and all of a sudden she was left with no chance of a career in the near future – and no Logan.

Rory had been a bit blindsided by the pregnancy but once her baby was in her arms she had realised that perhaps it wasn't the worst thing in the world, and all the things that had seemed so important to her when she had said no to Logan just didn't exist in the same way anymore. It was no longer just about her.

All of a sudden, sitting there in the darkness, Rory had what can only be described as a real moment of clarity. She knew what she needed to do.

Rory stood up and kissed her sleeping daughter on the head and walked to the bedroom to find Logan. When she got there she found him fast asleep in their bad. She walked over and sat down carefully on the edge of the bed next to him and took a deep breath before gently shaking him a couple of times to wake him up.

It took a moment for a sleepy Logan to realize what was going on.

"Rory, what are you doing here? Is it something wrong?" he said as she sat up a bit and leant back on his arms.

Rory shook her head silently before kissing him softly on the lips.

"Everything is right, so right," she said before continuing. "Logan, will you marry me?" Rory whispered as he pressed her forehead against his.

Logan pulled away quickly "What?!" he said in shock.

"Marry me Logan" she repeated.


	26. You Belong With Me

Logan reached over and turned the bedside light on.

"What's going on? What are you talking about? What time is it Ace?" Logan said as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

"I don't know what time it is" Rory shook her head. "I just realised tonight that this – you, me, our daughter, our home – this is everything I want and I don't want to lose it."

"Rory, you're not making any sense…why would you lose it?" Logan said as she sat up in bed a bit more.

"I know. I can't get out what I want to say." She said as she pushed her hands through her hair in frustration. "Logan, when I said no to marrying you it was because I had this idea of this whole wide open future ahead of me, I could go anywhere and be anything…or so I presumed. In my head, I thought that marrying you would mean that I would lose that but I was completely wrong. I mean, I lost it anyway - as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Then I got used to the idea that things weren't going to be as I had hoped and I kind of thought that maybe it was something I could pursue, as Lily got older but then you came back into my life and I now know it's just not an option for me." She said as she shook her head gently.

"Of course it is," Logan said as he leant forward to brush away some hair that fallen across Rory's eyes.

"No, it's not and it's fine. Really it is. There's no way I can jet off around the world being an overseas correspondent. It's not about me anymore. I have a family."

"So what are you saying?" Logan loved hearing that, he loved to hear Rory call him her family.

"I'm saying that the reasons I said no to marrying you just don't add up anymore. If I am truthful, I know they probably didn't add up then but I was scared. I want us to be together Logan, I want us to be a proper family. So what do you say…" she said looking at Logan hopefully.

"I say…damn straight Ace! Of course!" he said as he swept her up into a huge embrace.

"Oh my life, I am so relieved. That was pretty nerve-wracking" she said.

"I know right!" Logan joked. "Hang on," he said as he jumped out of bed and went over to his dresser drawer. He pulled out the small blue velvet box that Rory had last seen on her graduation day. Logan held out the box to Rory who met his eyes with her own. "We can get a new one if you prefer..."

Rory gasped "You kept it all this time?"

Logan shrugged "It was yours, I bought it for you – the moment I saw it I knew it was perfect. I could never get rid of it and there was no way anyone else was going to wear it".

When Logan had first seen the ring in, he knew that it was Rory all over. Elegant and unique, the ring was timeless featuring a stunning three carat pear-shaped diamond center stone, framed by twelve princess-cut diamonds, channel set on a platinum band. Even though it had been a few years since he'd bought it, it was still absolutely perfect for Rory. Logan had opened the box many times over the past few years and it caused him so much pain to look at it, but now it was different.

"I can't believe you kept it," Rory said as Logan slipped the ring onto her finger. She had loved the ring as soon as she had seen it. She remembered trying it on and admiring it while she was packing up her apartment feeling totally conflicted about her future.

"I guess I always hoped I'd see you wear it one day"

The fact that he had kept hold of it after all these years and had hung on to the hope that one day she might actually get to wear it meant so much to Rory and she couldn't imagine wearing any other ring.

"Now that's sorted, can we please get some sleep" Logan laughed pulling Rory down onto the bed with him.

"There's no way I can sleep now, I am way too excited!" Rory said, giddy with happiness.

"Oh yeah? Then we might have to find something better to do with our time" he said lifting her shirt over her head.

* * *

The next day Rory woke to Logan's gentle kisses on the back of her neck. She turned her head to look at him and smiled.

"Good morning," he said as he returned her smile.

"Morning," she said letting out a little yawn. "Do you know, I had the craziest dream…"

Logan smirked "That you woke me up in the middle of the night and begged me to marry you? That was no dream Ace."

"Hey, get your story straight, there was no begging…" she smiled as she rolled over onto her back and held her hand out in front of her to admire her new jewelry. "This is a good ring. A really good ring" she said as she held it up to the light and watched it sparkle.

"Well I am glad you like it Ace, I picked it out especially for you." he said as he leant over and kissed her softly.

* * *

"Put on your best dress Ace, I am taking you out"

"What?" Rory looked up from what she was reading.

"Marta will be here in an hour and we have reservations, so come on!" he said as he dragged her up from the sofa.

Rory took a shower and then went to her rather sizeable walk-in closet. Looking through the dresses she had on offer, before selecting one that she knew Logan would love. She knew he adored her in light blue so the Diane Von Furstenberg panelled lace cocktail dress fit the bill perfectly. It was a slim-fit with a contrasting panel at the bodice, which flattered her waist and bust. She paired the dress with the white Jimmy Choo pumps that her grandmother had bought her for her birthday and kept her hair simple in loose curls that fell onto her shoulders. Just as she was popping her diamond studs in her ears, Logan came into the room and walked up behind her.

"Well do I have the most beautiful fiancé in the world or what!" he said as he slipped his arms around her waist. "Ready to go?" Logan asked her as he led her downstairs and out to the waiting limo.

"Ooh swanky" Rory joked "Hi Frank" she smiled.

"Miss Gilmore" he nodded.

Frank drove them to a restaurant just on the outskirts of Hartford. When they got there they got out of the car where the maître d' was waiting for them. He led them upstairs before leaving them alone standing out a door.

"What's all this?" Rory asked looking at Logan slightly puzzled.

"I wanted to make it special," he said as he opened the door which led onto a roof terrace.

"Wow," Rory smiled. The terrace had been set up ready for an intimate dinner for two and the whole space was lit up with twinkling fairy lights. "It is special" she looked at Logan. "You know it reminds me of that time that you came home from London and surprised me at the apartment in New Haven?"

They both had fond memories of that night. The separation while Logan was working in London had been really hard on them and that night had been the first time they had seen each other in a long time. Logan had surprised her when he had returned on a business trip and they had spent a glorious evening on the roof of their apartment, talking and making love under a perfect starry sky. It was that kind of memory that they had both held on to after their break-up, neither of them ever allowing themselves to believe they would be back where they were.

Logan pulled out a chair for Rory to sit down before taking the seat opposite her.

"I'm so happy that we finally engaged, but you know, you kind of stole my thunder a bit, I'm the one who makes the grand gestures." He laughed as poured them both a glass of champagne.

"You don't always get to have all the fun Huntzberger" she smiled as she picked up her glass and took a sip, the bubbles warming her as she felt them trickle down her throat.

"That's true but I still wanted to do something to mark the occasion," he said as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a box. "You've already got the ring, so here, this is for you." He said handing her the signature red Cartier box.

"Logan…" Rory started to say before he interrupted her.

"Don't Logan me, just open it Ace"

Rory took the box from him, open it up and gasped. Inside was the most breathtakingly sparkling white gold necklace, studded with 48 brilliant-cut diamonds. She gently touched the delicate necklace.

"It's called a 'Love' necklace" Logan smiled "Apparently it serves to seal love that transgresses convention. I think that pretty much defines us don't you think?"

When Logan had seen it in the Cartier store and the sales assistant had explained the meaning behind the design, he knew that it was perfect for them. He knew Rory wouldn't be expecting anything but he wanted something new to signify that his love for her was stronger than ever.

"Wow, Logan, it's beautiful but you didn't have to," Rory said as Logan stood up to put the necklace around her neck.

"I didn't have to but I wanted to," Logan said as he bent down to kiss her before retaking his seat at the table.

"I feel a bit overwhelmed," Rory said as she tried to blink a few tears back. His thoughtfulness always got the better of her. She found it incredible that she was sitting there with Logan, sharing such amazingly special moments when this time last year she had pretty much given up hope of finding any kind of happiness.

"Perhaps more champagne will help?" Logan laughed as he topped up her glass.

* * *

Logan shuffled up next to Rory in the limo on the way back to their house and pulled her in closer to him. He started nuzzling into her neck. They'd both had more than enough champagne and were starting to feel the effects.

"I can't believe how much I just want to get back to our home and make love to my fiancé," he said as he kissed her neck and Rory let out a little moan. Logan was pretty glad of the privacy screen at that moment in time. The sounds that Rory elicited were for his ears only.

"I can't believe how much I want you to," Rory said breathlessly as she moved closer to him to straddle his lap. As she pressed closer to him she could feel his excitement and as their tongues fought each other in a passionate duel, she moved against him increasing the pressure.

The sensation was driving him wild. He was hoping that there were really near home now because he didn't think that he could wait much longer. He pushed his hands under Rory's dress which had ridden up her thighs, to grab her ass and gasped in shock when he met her bare skin. He pulled away from their kiss.

"No underwear Ace? You are going to be the death of me" he groaned.

Rory shrugged "I didn't want any lines if you haven't noticed this is a really tight dress."

"Oh don't worry, I noticed," he said as he kissed her again and Rory renewed her efforts in making him squirm in his seat. "Erm Ace, as much as I want to take you right here, right now, I'm sure Frank might find it a bit uncomfortable and anyhow, we're home" he smirked as Rory moved away from him and straightened out her dress.

Once inside the house, they both wanted to continue what had started in the car however first they had to say their goodbyes to Marta who had come to look after Lily. As soon as she had gone, clothes were shed pretty quickly and they never actually made it out of the living room. There were so concentrated on each other that they didn't notice the door being unlocked and opened, or the sound of footsteps coming towards the living room.

"Holy shit!" a voice yelled.

Rory and Logan froze to the spot.

"Oh my God, oh my God" Rory said hiding her hands in her face while Logan grabbed a throw to cover them up.

"Finn what are you doing here!" Logan said as he looked up at Finn who had rather gallantly turned to face the other direction.

"I'm sorry mate!" he exclaimed, "I thought you were out, you said you wouldn't be here and I just needed to get my jacket that I left…"

"Finn! Go into the kitchen!" Logan yelled at him.

Rory stood up. "Oh my god, I am going to die of embarrassment," she said with her eyes closed.

Logan laughed "Don't worry about it, I think he probably knows by now that we have sex."

"Yeah but…! Finn has seen me naked" she groaned "Doing….that" she whispered.

"I know, and you didn't even get to finish" Logan joked. "Go upstairs, I'll deal with Finn…".

Rory shook her head and ran up the stairs.

"Thanks for that mate!" Logan said as he walked into the kitchen to find Finn sitting with a scotch.

"How was I to know that you two would be going at it on the sofa! You've got a perfectly good bed…"

"You know Rory is going to make you give that key back don't you? That's if she ever talks to you again." Logan said as he poured himself a drink.

"Ah she'll be fine, we'll kiss and make-up, although, I've just seen where her mouth has been so maybe I'll rethink that…" Finn laughed "I gotta say though Logan having now seen your girlfriend in all her glory, whoa, she is hot. You're a lucky man Huntzberger."

"That I am" Logan nodded.

He wanted to correct him and tell him that his girlfriend was actually now his fiancé but somehow it didn't seem quite the right moment given the circumstances so instead, he sent him on his way and asked him if he could gather the gang for brunch tomorrow.

Logan headed back upstairs to find Rory in the shower. He stepped in to join her.

She looked at him "I am just washing off the shame…"

"Ace, it's perfectly natural…water off a duck's back to Finn. Not the first time one of us has walked in someone having sex. Plus he said you were hot"

Rory groaned.

"Which you totally are," Logan said as he kissed her. Rory pulled away and looked at him. "Don't worry, the door is most definitely locked, now let's finish what we started…."


	27. Happy Love

The next day Rory and Logan headed to their old haunt of Rich Man's Shoe in New Haven where they were meeting their friends for brunch, leaving Lily with Marta for the day.

After the interruptions of the night before, it was fair to say that Rory was ever so slightly apprehensive about going in. She was still completely mortified that Finn had found them in flagrante delicto while Logan, much to her annoyance, just seemed to find the whole thing highly amusing.

"Relax Ace" Logan laughed as he squeezed her hand "Nobody will care, we'll just dazzle them with this," he said as he brought the hand adorned with her engagement ring up to his mouth and kissed it.

"Hey guys," Logan said as he approached his waiting friends.

"Logan, Rory" Finn nodded with a laugh as Rory tried not to make eye contact with him. "I'm really sorry love, I just don't think I can ever look you in the eye again without laughing. "

"Finn…" Logan warned and Rory shook her head as she blushed. She just wished the ground would open beneath her feet and swallow her right up.

"What's going on, what happened?" Colin asked, sensing there was something he wasn't party to.

Rory looked at Finn pleading with him not to continue but she knew that it was completely fruitless. She knew these guys well enough to know that they weren't going to stop now until they found out what was going on. She threw herself down in the booth and Logan slid in beside her laughing as he slipped his arm around her shoulder.

"Where do I start!" Finn said as he rubbed his chin. "Well, last night, I was on my way home, just driving near Casa Gilmore-Huntzberger and I suddenly remembered that that last time I was there I left my jacket behind, so you know, I thought as I was passing and I had a key…"

"Which you will be returning with immediate effect!" Rory interrupted.

"…I thought I would just nip in there and get it while they were out. What can I say? It wasn't my fault that this pair had come home early from their date. To cut a long story short, I kind of interrupted 'proceedings' and may have seen a little bit more of Rory than I should have…" Finn winked.

"Oh my god, he walked in on you guys having sex?!" Steph asked Rory "Oh this is too funny" she laughed and clapped her hands with glee.

"Well, now strictly speaking I don't know if they were actually having sex or whether they'd even got that far. Let's ask them! Rory, what exactly was it you were doing down there? I mean from where I was standing it looked like you were…" Finn said trying not to laugh.

Rory pouted and threw a coaster at him across the table.

"Now now darling, there's no need for violence. We've all been there…I just hope you got the job finished after I left." He sniggered.

Rory blushed again and Logan leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before addressing the group. "Okay, enough with the ritual humiliation guys…we actually came here for a reason today and it wasn't to relive what will surely go down as one of our more memorable evenings…we wanted you to be the first to know that we're engaged" he said as Rory smiled and waved her hand so everyone could see the big sparkly rock that she was now sporting on her left hand.

"What!" Steph screeched "You're engaged! That's like the most amazing news ever!" she said as she jumped up to embrace both of her friends in a hug.

"That's awesome mate," Finn said as she shook Logan's hand and patted him on the back.

"Yeah, that's great news. I hope you'll be very happy together." Colin said from across the table.

Logan smiled at Rory "We are very happy" he said as he gave her a squeeze.

"So how did all this come about?" Finn said "Though, to be fair, after what I saw last night, I'm almost tempted to propose myself" he joked.

Rory rolled her eyes at Finn. "Actually, I asked Logan and he said yes."

"In my defense, she got me when I was half-asleep, I would have said yes to practically anything right about then" he joked and Rory poked him with her elbow.

"Ah, you two are so sweet." Steph sighed "Have you thought about your wedding yet? Where will you do it?"

"No, we've not thought about it at all" Rory shook her head "but probably around here somewhere, I guess. Not too far away. All our family and friends are here so it makes sense to do it locally."

"Well, I think this calls for some champagne don't you?" Finn said as he called a member of the wait staff over to bring over a couple of bottles.

* * *

After they'd seen their friends, Rory and Logan headed to Stars Hollow so they could break the news to Lorelai. Rory had called ahead to see if her mom was going to be at work or not but as she had the day off, she arranged to meet them at Luke's for coffee.

Despite telling her that she would call when she had run out of the house a few nights ago, Rory hadn't actually called Lorelai at all – mainly because she wanted to break the news face-to-face and she knew if she spoke to her she would just blurt it out. She had at least text her to say everything was okay - she had left suddenly and the last thing she wanted was her mom worrying about her.

They pulled the car up outside Luke's and got out and headed inside where Lorelai was waiting at the counter.

"So this was quite unexpected today, to what do I owe the pleasure…" Lorelai asked as the couple walked in "and where's my Lily!" she said with a frown.

"She's at home with Marta" Rory stated.

"Bah, rubbish. I wanted a squeeze from my favorite little girl." Lorelai pouted.

"What about me? I thought I was your favorite" Rory said matching Lorelai's pout.

"Well you were my favorite but she's way cuter than you and plus she shares her candy with me which you nearly never do. Here, coffee." Lorelai said holding out cups to Rory and Logan.

Rory took them out of her mom's hand and passed one to Logan.

"Hold the phone! What is that!" Lorelai gasped as she took in the sparkler on Rory's finger. "Is that…" she asked as she looked at Rory and then at Logan, her mouth wide open.

"It is" Rory smiled "We're getting married," she said happily looking at Logan.

"What!" Lorelai squealed. It was so loud that Luke came out of the storeroom to see what was happening.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Lorelai caught his eye and beckoned him over.

"Luke, look! Rory and Logan are engaged" she said excitedly.

"Wow, congratulations guys," Luke said.

"It's why I ran out on you the other night," Rory explained. "I just needed to go home. While we were watching that movie I sat and thought about everything you said and I knew that what I wanted more than anything in the world was to marry Logan, so I went home and I just asked him!" she said proudly.

Lorelai looked at Logan who beamed a huge grin back at her. "It's true, though there was the addition of a rather unwelcome wake-up call but I guess it was worth it," he said as he kissed Rory.

"Oh, my baby is getting married." Lorelai sighed contentedly "I couldn't be happier for you guys, honestly."

And it was the truth. Though Lorelai had many concerns over Rory's relationship with Logan in the past, she wasn't blind. She could see that the two of them were destined to be together come what may. They just kept getting drawn towards each other, like there was an invisible string holding them, and if Rory had the chance to make it work with Logan, and it meant that Lily would have her father on the scene, then Lorelai was all for it.

"What are you guys doing now, can you stay for lunch?" she asked.

"We've just eaten actually, brunch in New Haven," Rory said.

"Yeah, we're going to head back now and tell my parents…" Logan added.

Lorelai grimaced. "Ha, good luck with that!" she said as she smiled at Logan sympathetically.

"It's all good, the Huntzbergers have been very nice to me," Rory said with a smile. "..and we'll drop into grandpa and grandma too if we get time, I'm more stressed about that, to be honest!" she joked.

* * *

By the time Logan and Rory had delivered the news around Hartford they pretty were exhausted. Honor had predictably been completely over the moon with the news, jumping up and down with glee and the rest of the Huntzbergers were perfectly pleasant and didn't hesitate in congratulating the newly-engaged couple.

Rory thought it was a far cry from the first time that they met her when they had been only too happy to tell her that she wasn't right to marry into their family but apparently that was all water under the bridge now, though deep-down Rory was still very skeptical. Shira couldn't have been nicer about the whole thing and even went as far as volunteering her services to help with the wedding planning. Rory knew that she would probably never take her up on her offer but she graciously accepted it with a smile. Logan was impressed with how well Rory managed to handle his family these days. He knew they weren't easy people to deal with but she dealt with them admirably and gracefully.

The hardest part of the day was telling Emily and Richard, Rory's grandparents. Not because they weren't thrilled for them, on the contrary, they were ecstatic about the news, always having been a great fan of Logan, but more because Emily went from 0-60mph in a heartbeat. Rory had no sooner mentioned the word 'engaged' and Emily was practically on the phone to the caterers. There was a constant stream of questions about where they would get married, when would they get married, had they set a date, what kind of dress did Rory want, would she take Logan's name – they were all perfectly acceptable questions but ones that as yet they had no answers to - seeing as they had only been engaged for approximately 48 hours.

They had let Emily run with her excitement for now but Rory knew that at some point she was going to have to put her foot down. There was nothing conventional about Rory and Logan or their relationship and one thing was for sure, they would be getting married, their way. In fact, on the drive back to Hartford Rory's mind was swirling with an idea of exactly how she would like to get married, but she wasn't ready to tell Logan just yet.

"That was a long day" Rory sighed as she relaxed back on the sofa "Next time I get engaged I am just sending an email announcement or something."

"Next time?" Logan said in faux-surprise.

"You do know that this is just a starter marriage, don't you? The next one is for keeps." Rory yawned.

"Oh really?!" Logan laughed. "So after that bombardment of questions, have you actually had any thoughts about how you want to do this or even when you want to do it?"

"I have actually" Rory smiled "but I wasn't about to tell them that!"

"Well…can I be let in on the secret, you know, as your fiancé and all"

"Maybe, but not quite yet…" Rory said.

"Intrigue!"

She laughed "I've just had an idea about something but I'm not sure if it's going to be possible so before I say anything and get anyone's hopes up I just want to explore it as an option, okay?"

"Ah that's okay, I didn't want to be involved in my own wedding anyhow Ace," Logan said as he crossed his arms and sat back.

Rory pulled Logan over "You'll be involved stupid, don't worry there'll be tons of tiny inane tasks which will be delegated to you. Just let me surprise you for once, you're always surprising me! It's my turn!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all your lovely comments - I read each and every one and appreciate them massively. You keep me writing! Thank you. PS I feel like I might be nearing the end of this story, yikes!**


	28. Perfect

Rory stood alone in the warm sunshine looking carefully at her soundings. She knew that this was the absolute perfect place for them to hold their wedding ceremony.

The Sterling Memorial Library had always been her favorite building on the Yale campus. She still laughed when she remembered the time Logan had caught her sniffing a book right there in that very library. That was in the days before her and Logan had even become a thing – at that time she wasn't sure that he even liked her though she was crushing on him hard. Although that had also been the day that Colin, Finn and Logan had played their prank on her when she was in a class. She could laugh about it now but she was so mad back then. Rory smiled as she thought about how many memories the place held for her.

The Yale campus, with all its gothic stone buildings and delicate carvings at every turn, was nothing short of beautiful, and it, more importantly, it was a place that actually meant something to the both of them. Not only had her grandparents attended Yale, but it was here she had met the love of her life and for that reason, it would always be special. They'd shared some great times there together and this would add just one more to the list.

Yes, the Selin Courtyard outside the library was definitely it. Rory was absolutely sure that even if she searched unto the ends of the earth, she wouldn't be able to find a more fitting place. Now all that was left to do was to show Logan and win him over.

She pulled her cell phone out from her bag and dialled his number.

"Hey Ace," Logan said when he answered the call.

"Hey. I know you're probably really busy right now so just quickly; can you meet me at Yale after you've finished work tonight? I really need to show you something."

"Sure, everything okay?" Logan asked.

"Yes, everything is absolutely fine" Rory smiled "What time do you think you can get here for?"

"I've got a few things to finish off here, but I could probably get away early, so I could be there for, say 6ish?"

"Great, meet you outside the Sterling Memorial Library. I'll see you later. Love you" Rory said.

"Love you too," Logan said as he ended the call.

* * *

At 6 pm Rory stood waiting for Logan outside the library, she had asked the events coordinator Dani to come along with her. After a few minutes of waiting she saw him walking up the path towards them with Lily toddling alongside. He walked over and gave Rory a quick kiss on the cheek before she bent down to pick Lily up.

"This is nice a surprise, I wasn't expecting to see you here!" she said as she rubbed noses with the little girl who was very happy to see her. "This is our daughter Lily," Rory said turning towards the events coordinator.

"Well, as I finished early I thought I'd swing by and pick her up to come and meet mommy too." Logan smiled.

"Logan, this is Dani – she's an events coordinator here at Yale. Dani, this is my fiancé Logan Huntzberger."

"Very nice to meet you, Logan," Dani said with a smile. Both Rory and Logan noticed that the name drop had registered with her. The Huntzberger's weren't only known for their prominent position in the newspaper and media market, but they had also been prolific donators to Yale over the years so their name was definitely well known around the campus.

"Nice to meet you too," Logan said. "What did you want to show me?" he asked as he turned to Rory.

She smiled at him and put Lily down. "This" Rory said as she waved her arms.

Logan looked at her questioningly. "You want to show me the library Ace?"

Rory nodded. "Well, I know you probably didn't see much of it in your Yale days…only when you got lost on your way somewhere else" she joked. "No seriously – I wanted to bring you here because this is where I think that we should get married."

Logan looked around the courtyard, he'd been there a million times but this time it required a proper look. "Here?" he raised an eyebrow at Rory and looked over to where their daughter was playing happily on the grass. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever find herself following in her parents and grandparents footsteps by heading to Yale.

"Yep, right here in this courtyard. What do you think?" Rory said nervously as she looked at him. "I know it might not look like much now but honestly when it's all dressed up, it's amazing."

He broke into a smile. "I love it, I think it's perfect."

Getting married at Yale hadn't been something that Logan had even thought about before now but as soon as Rory had suggested it, he knew it was the right place – and the idea of having the wedding at the library couldn't have been more perfect, he knew how much she loved it there.

"You do? Oh, I am so pleased!" Rory screamed as she jumped up and down and threw herself into his arms.

"Fantastic" Dani said "Now, I do have to tell you, it is a really popular space so we're booking quite far in advance. Do you have a date in mind?"

"Not yet," Rory said. "We've not picked a date," she said as she shook her head.

"Okay, well flexibility is good and that definitely works in your favour. We did have a cancellation recently for September 12th but that may be too soon for you?" Dani said as she tilted her head at the couple.

Rory looked at Logan, September was only a couple of months away. It might make things pretty tight but it was perfectly doable.

"We'll take it," Logan said decisively.

Rory looked at him open-mouthed "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely! Let's do this!" he said as he put his arms around her and squeezed her tight.

* * *

"I don't know how you thought of it, it would never have occurred to me," Logan said as he slowly walked hand-in-hand with Rory through the campus grounds, Lily just a few paces in front of them.

"It's only because I saw it set up for a wedding recently, honestly it was beautiful, you wait till you see it with flowers and everything," she said dreamily. "Then I realised that as Yale alumni it's open to us. Dani has also said that we can have cocktails in the lobby of the library and among the corridors that house the old card catalogues, which is going to be amazing."

"I think it's all perfect. Now, all we need is somewhere to hold the reception and actually I think I know a good place nearby…" he said, "Do you want to go take a look now?"

Logan went to the car to retrieve Lily's stroller and they walked the two short blocks to the Union League Café, a French-inspired brasserie which had a lively but unpressured atmosphere. The place had an old world charm but was modern and cosmopolitan at the same time. One of the most important things to the couple was that their wedding was not to be stuffy. Sure, they wanted it to be elegant and classy but it needed to represent them as the fun-loving young people that they were. Neither Rory nor Logan were particularly interested in having the kind of big high society wedding that their families were likely to suggest and they weren't about to let them bully them into it either. Rory absolutely loved the ballroom at the brasserie and so they provisionally booked it for their date, arranging to come back to organize menu testing and deposit later that week.

"Wow, I cannot believe we have booked our wedding," Rory said as they walked slowly back to their cars parked at Yale. "And it's only three months away. Our families are going to freak out."

Logan laughed, he wasn't overly worried about the potential fallout that was looming. "We'll need to tell them sooner rather than later…"

"I know. I really don't want them taking over Logan, I want to do things our way." Rory said assertively.

"Why don't we just send them an invite, they'll get the message that way" Logan joked.

"That's not a bad idea you know…" Rory stopped pushing the stroller and turned to Logan.

"Rory…I was joking, your grandma will kill us."

"No she won't, well she won't kill me" Rory smiled. "Excellent idea Logan!" she exclaimed as he walked ahead of him.

"Ace…" Logan called as he sped to catch her up.

* * *

 _***With great pleasure Lorelai Leigh Gilmore & Logan Elias Huntzberger invite you to join them in the celebration of their marriage - Saturday, the 12th of September at half past four in the afternoon - The Selin Courtyard at the Sterling Memorial Library - Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 - Dinner and dancing to follow at the Union League Café, New Haven***_

"Hello?" Rory cheerily answered her cell phone.

"Erm Rory…" a voice said nervously on the other end of the line.

"Yes, mom?" Rory knew what was coming but just decided to play it cute. She'd expected to receive several of these phone calls since she had dropped the invitations into the mail and was somewhat surprised that this was just the first one.

"So I just received this wedding invitation in the post…" Lorelai said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, so you got it!" Rory teased. "Hope you can make it…"

"Are you crazy? You do realize your grandparents are going to flip don't you" Lorelai laughed.

"Why?" Rory asked. She knew exactly why they were going to flip out and she was more than ready to stand up for herself.

"Because her ladyship Emily Gilmore believes that she and she alone has the divine right to be involved with everyone's lives you know that right don't you?"

"I know she won't be happy that she's had no involvement so far but it's our wedding mom and we want to do it our own way, plus we're paying for it so…" Rory paused. "Well, Dad is…"

"Christopher is paying?!" Lorelai couldn't hide the shock in her voice. She knew he was considerably wealthy these days but she hadn't really expected Rory to involve him in that way as they didn't see a huge amount of each other.

"For some of it, yes," Rory said a little sheepishly.

Rory didn't see her father very often now he was living in Boston but she had called him to give him the good news. He had been thrilled for her as he'd got on really well with Logan when he met him. He had of course immediately offered to pay for the whole thing but Logan was insistent that he and his family would want to contribute to what was bound to become a rather costly affair.

"Don't be mad?" Rory said to Lorelai.

"Oh kid, I'm not mad, it's your wedding and I think it's nice you want your father to be involved and it's nice that he wants to help out."

"That's two uses of the word 'nice' right there. Are you sure you're okay about this? I know it might be a little awkward with Luke and all but…" Rory paused.

"…but he's your dad. Of course, I am fine with it." Lorelai said quietly. "So Yale huh, that's pretty special," She said moving the conversation on.

* * *

Shortly after she had finished on the call to her mother, her cell phone rang again. Rory picked it up and looked at caller ID and groaned. Here goes she thought.

"Hey grandma"

"Rory Gilmore don't you 'hey grandma' me, what is the meaning of this?" Emily said sternly.

Rory grimaced. "I take it you got the invitation…"

"We most certainly did. I can't believe that you didn't talk to us about this before sending out invitations. Are we the last to know? And September? What is the rush? Oh, Rory. Are you pregnant?" Emily rattled her thoughts down the line at Rory.

"Grandma! No! I am not pregnant!" Rory shrieked. "You're not the last to know, everybody has found out the details in exactly the same way as you. And the reason it's in September is a) we see absolutely no need to wait and b) the venue gets booked way in advance and happened to have a cancellation." Rory could feel herself getting annoyed at the conversation.

"Hmm. Well, I still think it would have been polite to let your grandparents know beforehand" Emily said firmly.

"Sorry grandma," Rory said, feeling the need to apologize just to keep the peace. "but now you know…what do you think?"

Emily paused. "I think that the courtyard at Yale is a wonderful idea, Rory, I think it will be absolutely beautiful," she said, her tone softening slightly.

"I'm glad you like it, grandma. It's a very special place for both Logan and myself." Rory said before she added, "I'm sorry that we didn't involve you but you know there are lots of other elements I am going to need help with…" Rory broke off trying to desperately think of something that she could offer for her grandmother to deal with. Catering would all be handled by the brasserie and Sookie would be crushed if she didn't get to make the cake.

"..like the flowers! Oh, I don't know anything about flowers and yours are always so beautiful. I'm definitely going to need your advice on those grandma"

"Well, yes, I suppose my florist is rather good. I will look at dates and set up a meeting" Emily said rather forthrightly. She didn't want to let on but she was secretly very happy that Rory had given her something to organize she would make sure that Rory had the most beautiful flowers for her wedding.

Rory said goodbye to her grandma and ended the call. The hardest conversation had definitely been had. The Huntzbergers, never ones to show much emotion, didn't seem overly concerned about not being involved in all the details but were only too happy to offer their checkbook to the young couple.

Now with the wedding booked and the invitations sent out, all the planning could really start!


	29. Dress to Impress

With only a few months to go before the wedding, Rory knew that one of the most important things that she really needed to get sorted out as soon as possible was her wedding dress. It hadn't really taken her long to decide on bridesmaids and had settled on having Lane, Paris, Honor and Steph and although they'd all wanted to help Rory with this important decision, their busy lives and conflicting schedules meant that it was just Honor and Steph that were able to go along with Lorelai when they all headed to New York for day of dress shopping.

They knew they were short on time when it came to ordering a dress as six months was normally the minimum lead time, however Rory was fast discovering that money talked, and in New York City, so did the Huntzberger name. Once the stores were fully aware of which family they were dealing with they were more than happy to bend over backwards to help Rory find the dress of her dreams. She did normally care to name-drop but Honor had pointed out that desperate times called for desperate measures!

Rory had spent some time doing some research on dresses and had found a boutique that carried some of the designers that she loved. When they arrived at the store, the sales assistant met them at the door and welcomed them all in.

"Hello, I am Bridget, and I'm going to help you find your dream gown," she said with a warm smile "You must be Lorelai?" she said holding her hand out to Rory.

"I am, but actually everyone calls me Rory" she smiled.

"Okay, Rory. Well, it's great to have you here. Shall we get started?" Bridget gestured for everyone to take a seat. "The first thing that we normally do with our brides is learn a little bit more about your wedding," she said. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about the groom and how you met."

Rory smiled. "His name is Logan and we have a little girl called Lily. We met at college a few years ago, Yale, which is where we are going to be having the ceremony. We've been apart for a little while but have recently got back together and live together in Hartford."

"`Sweet!" Bridget said "Yale is a beautiful campus. And the reception? Where will you be holding that?" she asked.

"We're having it in the ballroom at a brasserie just a couple of blocks away from Yale." Rory said "It's modern but with a very old New York kind of style. We really want the wedding to represent us but…" Rory paused, not sure how to say what she wanted to say without coming across a little elitist. "…we're both from quite prominent families locally so we are aware that there is a bit of an image to uphold - Logan's family more so as the Huntzbergers are in the media industry and very well known. Chances are we'll find our photo ending up somewhere in the press."

"Oh!" Bridget said, as she suddenly realised that she was dealing with quite a significant wedding and started to fully understand the importance of whatever dress they selected. "So is there anything, in particular, you have in mind?"

"Not really. I mean, I haven't really had a long time to think about it as everything has happened kind of fast." Rory smiled at Bridget. "I think I'd like to just try a few different silhouettes and see what suits me best if that's okay with you?"

Everyone had their own idea of what style Rory should have or what suited her best. Lorelai really wanted to see her baby girl in a big princess style ball gown, while Steph thought Rory would totally rock a figure-hugging mermaid style and Honor was sure that a classic A-line strapless style would suit her. Rory herself, she had no idea of what she wanted at all and she was completely open to suggestions.

"We can do this any way you want to" Bridget smiled "You're the bride after all. Now, always the difficult part…budget-wise what are we aiming for?"

Rory and Lorelai exchanged glances. Rory had never been comfortable when it came to spending and splurging. "Erm, there's no real budget. Whatever the right dress costs I guess" she said nervously.

"Excellent" Bridget said. "That gives us a lot of flexibility which is important given the short timescale we are working with. Let's go look at some dresses shall we?"

The ladies all walked around the boutique together looking at the racks and racks of dresses. Rory felt a little overwhelmed by the displays and so Lorelai and the girls all helped to pick out a dress they liked and Rory selected a couple of her own choices to try on. She headed back to a dressing room with Bridget while the girls took their seats in the staging area and enjoyed a glass of champagne.

"So Rory," Bridget said, "Which out of these dresses would be your favorite?"

Rory looked at them "This one" she said pointing to the dress she had first picked out for herself.

"We'll try that one on last then" Bridget smiled putting the dress to on side.

The first dress that Rory tried on was Lorelai's pick, which was a stunning ballet-inspired Vera Wang ball gown with a chapel train. More than a hundred yard of tulle gave the skirt it's frothy volume and the bodice was crystal-encrusted with rosettes designed into the skirt. It was a beautiful dress but Rory had never really seen herself as ball gown kind of girl and while she had to admit that Lorelai's choice was pretty stunning, it didn't really feel like her.

She stepped out into the waiting area so her entourage could see for herself. "Awwww" they all chorused as they saw Rory in a wedding dress for the first time.

"You look amazing Rory," Honor said.

"How do you feel in this dress?" Bridget asked as she adjusted the skirt.

"I think it's beautiful but it's not really me, you know?" Rory wrinkled her nose "I don't think I'd be comfortable in this style. Sorry, mom, I know you wanted me in a big poofy dress."

"It's your day kid" Lorelai smiled. "You've got to pick what you want."

Next Rory tried on the dress that Honor had picked out for her. Honor had fantastic taste and she had chosen a romantic, full-length, A-line gown from Badgley Mischka which was just so effortlessly elegant. It's fully beaded bodice with glimmering beading and an alluring, deep V-neckline was a stunning contrast against the dreamiest soft tulle skirt cascading down from a figure-flattering waistband. Rory liked this dress more than she had when she had first seen it, she really loved the tulle skirt. Honor really did know how to pick them she thought to herself as she smoothed down the dress and walked out to her friends. Again, they all cooed at Rory but while she felt a bit more comfortable in this gown it still didn't feel like the one for her so it was back to the drawing board.

Steph had picked out a gorgeous lace trumpet gown with a chic scalloped hem. The strapless gown, which had a corset back, featured an ultra-feminine sweetheart neckline and the beaded sash at the waist created a stunning focal point.

Rory looked at herself in the mirror. "Wow," she said to her own reflection as Bridget laced up the corset.

"Is that a good wow or a bad wow?" Bridget asked.

"I'm not sure, I mean wow, it's pretty show-stopping but I'm not sure it's the kind of look I am going for?"

Bridget tilted her head to look at Rory. "Let's take it out to the girls shall we and see what they say?"

"Va Va Voom!" Lorelai said when Rory stepped out "That's one sexy wedding dress!"

"I'm not sure sexy is what I was aiming towards…" Rory said as she twirled for them. While her friends all thought that it was a stunning design they all agreed that it didn't really fit in with her whole theme or the feel for the day.

Finally, it was on to the two dresses that Rory had selected for herself. The first dress was a crepe sheath wedding dress from Jenny Packham. It was the epitome of grace and elegance and it's highly embellished cap sleeves, back yoke and waistband just oozed old school Hollywood glamour. She liked how she looked in it and the group gave her a positive response making it a definite contender. Rory was happy that they seemed to be getting closer to where she wanted to be.

The final dress that Rory tried on and the one that she had pretty much set her heart on from the beginning was a full -length 'modern vintage' style dress from Badgley Mischka. The dress had a sheer overlay bodice, a jewel neckline and cap sleeves. Whimsical and soft, the A-line silhouette of the dress was created from layers of soft net over chiffon with a gathered waist and a chapel train. The intricate metallic embroidery detailing sparkled across the sheer overlay bodice.

Everyone could see that Rory's whole demeanor totally changed when she stepped out in the final dress. She walked much tall and she almost sparkled with happiness. As she stepped out into the area where the girls were waiting for her there was a collective gasp.

"Oh my god, That's the one kiddo," Lorelai said wiping tears away.

"You think?" Rory said as she looked at her mom nervously.

"I really do" Lorelai nodded. She couldn't believe how emotional the whole process was making her feel but she knew seeing her daughter so relaxed and happy in front of her that it was without a doubt the dress she needed to wear.

"That dress was made for you Rory" Steph nodded along with Lorelai.

"Honor?" Rory asked, "What do you think?"

Honor stood up and walked over to her. She placed her hands on Rory's arms and looked her in the eye. "Rory, I think my brother is going to just die when he sees you walking down the aisle to him wearing this. It's perfect" she smiled as she gave Rory a hug.

Rory looked at her own reflection. Yes, she thought, this was definitely the dress for her. She had loved it when she saw it on the rack but as soon as it was on, she knew that she was never going to want to take it off. She loved the way it flowed and moved and how it made her feel like a complete goddess. This was absolutely the dress that she wanted to wear to marry Logan.

Bridget helped a very reluctant Rory out of the dress. "Did you want to look at anything else while you are here? Mother-of-the-bride outfit? Bridesmaid dresses maybe?"

Rory nodded "Yes, I think that would be good to get those ticked off the list while we are here," she said, her motivation at a peak after successfully finding a dress for herself. She followed Bridget back out to the showroom to see what they could offer. Rory loved the style of the Jenny Packham bridesmaids dresses and was happy to let Honor and Steph choose the style, taking into consideration what might suit Paris and Lane too. The girls settled on a chiffon dress with a delicate Chantilly lace flutter-sleeve bodice with a thin ribbon sash accenting the waistline and a keyhole back. When it came to the color of the bridesmaid's dresses, she wanted to tie everything together and so to fit in with their wedding venue Rory picked a sophisticated a blue to match the famed 'Yale Blue', a color which was deeply ingrained in the culture of the university.

Once the bridesmaids were all sorted, Rory had even managed to convince Lorelai into getting her mother-of-the-bride outfit. Lorelai fell in love with a champagne ball gown with an intricate lace bodice complete with long lacy sleeves. The shimmering satin high-low ball skirt dipped to the floor at the back and was calf-length at the front and was finished off with an oversized sash bow. It was way more than Lorelai could afford to spend on one dress but Rory insisted on buying it for her because it suited her so well.

"Well I'm exhausted ladies but I think there's one thing left to do," Rory said as the girls all looked at her expectantly. "Shoes!" she squealed. They jumped into a cab and headed to Jimmy Choo to pick some shoes to finish off their outfits.

Lorelai was uneasy about spending so much money on one pair of shoes.

"Rory, this is way too much," she said as Rory spoke to the sales assistant to pay the bill which had run into thousands of dollars. "I can't let you pay for all of this!"

"Don't worry" Rory said "I'm not, Dad is," she said waving Christopher's credit card.

"Right," Lorelai said as she rolled her eyes "I forget that your dad has all this money these days. In that case, spend away, Chris owes me a few birthday presents" she winked.

* * *

When she got back home Rory collapsed on the sofa next to Logan.

"Successful day?" he asked as he looked across at her.

"I have a dress, the bridesmaids have dresses, even my mom has a dress. And we all have very sparkly shoes courtesy of Jimmy Choo. Well, and my father of course" Rory winked. "I'd call that pretty successful."

"Wow, Ace you actually got a dress? Can I see what it looks like?" Logan asked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Of course you can't see it, Logan, you know that it's really bad luck!" Rory tutted "You'll just have to wait but luckily you really don't have to wait all that long. I just hope you like it."

"You could wear a burlap sack for all I care," Logan said as he pulled Rory over to him "I really can't wait. Only three months until I finally get to call you Mrs Huntzberger" he said as he pressed his lips gently to hers.

Rory closed her eyes and felt herself melting into the kiss. Yes, she thought, I definitely like the sound of that.


	30. Pressure

Life had started to pass by in a bit of a whirlwind of wedding planning and arrangements. With so much to do in such a short space of time, Rory was really starting to regret having opted for such a short engagement but she knew that she was pretty fortunate to have people like her grandmother around, who were only too happy to take the reins when the planning all got a bit too much for her. She knew that it would mean a lot to Emily to be involved with the arrangements, so when it came to down to choosing the menu for the meal at their wedding reception, Rory made sure to invite her along.

She met Emily at the Union League Café for lunch while Logan was at work. He was happy to trust Rory's opinions and whatever she wanted to go with would be fine with him. For once, Rory actually looked forward to spending some time alone with the grandmother, it had been a while since they had spent any quality time together. Emily had been far more accepting of the whole situation than she ever would have thought possible and it had definitely brought them closer together in recent times.

"Rory, you look absolutely radiant," Emily said as she greeted her granddaughter when she walked into the brasserie. "I think that being in love must agree with you" she smiled.

"Hello grandma" Rory smiled. "I'm really glad you could come today, I needed some help making these decisions on food and somehow I think that you might be far better qualified than me or mom"

"Well, quite. I'd dread to think what would be served up to your guests if we left it to your mother. Probably fried chicken and Pop Tarts." Emily rolled her eyes.

They took their seat at the table that had been laid out for them and settled in to enjoy a long leisurely lunch. The restaurant brought out samples of the various dishes that they thought appropriate for the event, talking them through what each dish incorporated.

"The food is delicious here Rory, however did you find this place?" Emily asked.

"It was Logan's suggestion," Rory said.

"That boy has excellent taste" Emily said knowingly.

She'd always been fond of Logan. Of course, that opinion changed slightly when she discovered Rory was to be a single mother. Rory had never openly announced Logan as the father back then but everyone had pretty much assumed and Emily wasn't blind – the likeness between father and daughter was remarkable.

After a somewhat long discussion and a pretty intense scoring system on Rory's part, they had finally settled on their menu. The wedding meal would start with an appetizer of 'Souffle de Saint-Jacques et Crevettes' - a New England sea scallop and shrimp mousseline and lobster bisque. This would then be followed by 'Filet de Boeuf Bordelaise' – pan roasted beef tenderloin served with a potato gratin with French green beans and a shallot and Cabernet reduction. Finally, when it came to dessert there was really only one option for Rory – it went without saying that she would choose the only dessert on the menu laced with coffee! The 'Chaud-froid choco-vanille' was a bittersweet chocolate-espresso mousse that was served with warm chocolate sauce, vanilla bean ice-cream and chocolate tuile. It was by far Rory's favorite part of the meal. After they'd made their final choices they sat back enjoying a coffee.

"You look very happy Rory," Emily said as she looked at her granddaughter.

"I am grandma" she smiled. "I feel like I have been given a second chance, you know?"

"I do" Emily smiled and nodded. "And I am very happy that things are working out for you."

After they had finished their coffees, Emily and Rory spent some time walking around the Yale campus in the sunshine, with Rory pointing out exactly where the ceremony would be held. Emily had extremely fond memories of visiting Richard on campus back when they were dating and it was the place that he had proposed to her. It held so many special memories, she was happy that her granddaughter also loved the place dearly.

* * *

Rory said her goodbyes to her grandmother and headed off to Rich Man's Shoe, where she had plans with Logan to meet their friends for a drink after they had finished work that day. As most of them, including Logan, had to travel to New Haven, she was the first one there and so she slipped off to the bathroom to check her appearance. She smoothed down the elegant fitted black dress she had chosen to wear to the lunch, spritzed herself with some perfume and carefully reapplied her lipstick. Taking one last glance in the mirror she opened the bathroom door and not looking at all where she was going, she walked straight into Logan.

"Fancy seeing you here," Logan said with a smile. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him as he kissed her passionately on the lips.

After a couple of moments, Rory begrudgingly pulled away for air. She couldn't believe that after all this time Logan still had the ability to fluster her and take her breath away.

"Well, that was some hello" Rory smiled as Logan released her from his hold and they walked back into the bar hand-in-hand.

"How was lunch with Emily?" Logan asked, "Did you get everything sorted?"

"We did and I think you'll like it" she said "but really, it's too bad if you don't because I've ordered it anyhow, and if you don't like it then I'll just have to eat the chocolate espresso mousse for you because it was divine" she rambled on dreamily as they walked over to the table where their friends had arrived and had already ordered the drinks in.

"So we're here to discuss the most important part of Logan and Rory's wedding, the bachelor party," Finn said as he rubbed his hands in glee.

"Ahem, and the bachelorette party…" Steph added.

"Do we really have to have a bachelorette?" Rory groaned "I'm really not bothered…" She'd never been keen on the idea, it wasn't really her scene at all but she also knew that the girls were not going to let her off the hook that easily. There was going to be a more civilized bridal shower with her mom and other friends but she had been pre-warned by Rosemary, Steph and Juliet that there would have to be some serious partying.

"Yes, we have to!" Steph exclaimed "Don't worry, we're not going to go too crazy…and we're kind of syncing our plans with the boys."

Logan raised an eyebrow at Colin and Finn. He had no problem meeting up with the girls on the night but he knew that it wouldn't be high up on his friend's agenda. He'd already told them he wanted to go relatively low-key and it was to involve absolutely no naked or semi-naked women.

"Disappointingly we knew that you wouldn't be up for some big Vegas blow-out so we decided to do it closer, in New York and while we're not happy about it, after a lot of pestering, we've agreed to let the girls in on the night." said to Logan as he looked at Steph who rolled her eyes. "But not all night" he added in a warning tone.

"Don't blame me?" Steph said "Blame these two who can't be apart for more than five minutes" she gestured at the loved-up couple. Rory had said that the only way she was going to go on some wild night out was if they hooked up with the boys at some point. It had kind of backfired on her as she had thought that Finn and Colin would veto the idea but she had massively underestimated Steph's persuasive powers.

"The theme is…drumroll please Colin….One night in New York!" Finn shouted "It's going to be a night like no other!" he winked.

"Sounds…intriguing" Logan said looking at Rory. "Just let me know in advance if whatever we are going to do is going to involve bail money…" he joked.

"Girls, we are going to need to go on a serious shopping trip," Rosemary said, "This sounds like a killer outfit is going to be required."

"Oh yes ladies, our theme is very dark and noir. Outfits need to be smokin' hot." Finn smirked.

"Sounds like a drunken night of debauchery is on the cards to me" Juliet laughed and Finn winked at her.

"Is there any better way to send our man and his lovely fiancé off?" he said as he raised his glass and beckoned for everyone else to join him. "Cheers. To Rory and Logan," he said as they all clinked their glasses together.

* * *

Rory took off her dress and walked into the bathroom where Logan was brushing his teeth and started rummaging around in one of the cupboards.

"That maid keeps moving my stuff" Rory grumbled.

"What have you lost Ace," Logan said as she stood up and looked around the bathroom.

"My pill. I left the packet just here" she said as she pointed to the counter. "It was there his morning and now it's gone. I will never get used to having someone tidying up after me!"

"Maybe you should take it as a sign," Logan said as he walked up behind her and kissed her gently on the neck.

"Huh?" Rory said not really paying much attention.

"I mean, do you really need to take it? We're getting married soon…"

Rory spun around to look at him "What?! You're not serious?" she laughed. "Ah there they are!" she said as she reached up to take the packet off the shelf. She grabbed them and popped one in her mouth before looking at Logan.

"Oh my god, you ARE serious," she said as she took a step back.

"Would it really be so bad?" Logan shrugged.

Rory looked at Logan incredulously "You want to have another baby?"

"The first one we made didn't turn out so bad" he smiled "Lily's is amazing Ace, I could have a million more like her."

"And I'm sure we will, well maybe not a million, but another one at least," Rory said. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing.

"So why wait?" Logan asked her. "Why not just do it? It would be great for Lily to have a little brother and sister relatively close in age."

Rory just shook her head without speaking.

"I missed out on so much with Lily…"

"That is not a good reason to have another child, Logan." Rory said, "I mean, I am still at grad school, now is so not a good time."

"There'll never a be a good time Ace. Come on" he said as he put his arms around her waist.

"Logan! No!" she said as she pulled away. "I don't want to have another baby right now!" she shouted.

Logan paced over to the other side of the room and pushed his hair back with his hands. "So it's all about you. It's always about what you want Rory. You didn't want to get married so we didn't and we broke up. You didn't want to tell me that you were pregnant so you didn't and I missed out on almost the first year of my daughter's life…"

"That is not fair," Rory said as she started to cry "You cannot just throw that in my face all the time. I thought we were leaving the past in the past".

Rory watched as Logan walked past her into the bedroom and pulled on some clothes. "Logan, where are you going?" she shouted as she watched him as he walked out of the room without looking back at her.


	31. Up In The Air

Rory watched Logan leave the room and heard the door slam downstairs. She didn't know where he was going to go but she didn't feel in any mood to follow him. She waited up a little to see if he would come back but after more than an hour had passed, she just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and she drifted off to sleep.

She had been really surprised by the whole conversation and his reaction, not even being aware that it was something he might have been thinking about. Sure, she had thought about having more children at some point, she was pretty confident it was a certainty, but she had never really thought about when that might be or how far into the future she was actually thinking this would be.

A little while later Rory woke up when she heard Logan come back into the bedroom and slide into bed next to her. He didn't say anything as he pulled the covers up and so she turned around to face him in the bed to speak to him.

"Logan…I…" she started to say before he interrupted her.

"Forget it, Rory," Logan said turning over in the bed with a sigh "You made your feelings clear enough, we don't need to go over it all again. It's fine."

Rory sat up in bed and turned the light on.

"No Logan, it's not fine. We're not just going to gloss over this and stew about it for days on end. I want to deal with it now" she said firmly.

Logan looked at her and sat up in the bed.

"Logan, listen to me. I love that you want to have another baby, I really do and one day, when the time is right, I definitely want to have more children with you, hell we can have a whole hockey team if that's what you really want, but we're still so young. I'm still doing my PhD and I've not even begun to establish a career yet. I've already put everything on hold once, I'm not sure I want to do it again so soon" she said before she added, "This affects me so much more than it affects you."

"I don't know what you want me to say Rory," Logan said as he threw his hands up in the air.

Rory bit her lip. She didn't know what she wanted him to say either. She felt like they were at a bit of an impasse and she didn't like it one little bit.

"I don't think we're going to resolve this tonight…" she trailed off "…but I just wanted you to know that it's not because I don't want to have any more children, it's just that I'm not sure I want them yet. I love you Logan" she said as she gently touched his face with her hand.

"Okay" Logan forced a small smile. "Look, we're both tired, let's just go to sleep," he said as he lay down and closed his eyes.

Logan didn't know why her response to having another baby had affected him so much. He understood her reasons for not wanting to but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt him any less. Rory had seemed adamant that this wasn't what she wanted and he wasn't about to spend any more time trying to convince her that it was something they should do. He had to trust that when the time was right, she'd let him know.

Rory looked over at him and sighed before she reached over and turned off the light.

* * *

The next morning when Rory woke up, Logan was already downstairs having breakfast with Lily. Rory walked into the kitchen feeling slightly awkward. She wasn't really sure what the lay of the land was and the atmosphere in the kitchen was slightly unsettled. She did feel a little better however when Logan came over to where she was stood to fetch himself a cup of coffee to go. As he said goodbye he leant over and kissed her on the top of the head before he left the house for work.

Rory stood absentmindedly nibbling on a bagel as she stared out of the French doors into their garden. She was so sure last night that Logan was being a complete ass about it all but now in the cold light of day she wondered if she wasn't partly to blame for their current deadlock situation. She really needed to talk it over with someone – someone unbiased. Lorelai was out of the picture as Rory knew she would instinctively jump to her defense so she picked up the phone and called Lane. Lane might well be one of her very best friends but she knew that her friend would always be honest and truthful with her.

"Hey, Rory! How are you doing?" A happy-sounding Lane answered the call.

"Hey Lane. Sorry, I've not called recently, things have got a bit hectic, you know, with the wedding plans and everything. They're taking over my life."

"I can imagine" Lane laughed. "It was bad enough with my momma getting involved but you've got Lorelai, Emily and your in-laws to deal with! I don't envy you."

"Yeah," Rory said distractedly. "Look, Lane. I didn't really call you to talk about the wedding I just really needed to speak to you about something."

"Okay…" Lane said, she could tell by Rory's tone that something was up.

"Logan and I got into a fight last night…" Rory paused.

"How big a fight?" Lane asked carefully.

"A pretty serious one. He wants us to have another baby and I kind of freaked out and said no. Things aren't so good at the moment."

"Oh no!" Lane said. "I take it then that you're not keen on the idea?"

"I don't know. I mean, I want to have more children for sure, but I feel like I'm the one who has to make all the compromises. It's me that has to give up on following my dreams. I can't travel, I couldn't even take the job in Washington." Rory sighed. "Lane, you must kind of know where I am coming from, surely. I mean, you had to give up following your dreams didn't you?"

Lane took a deep breath. "Oh, Rory. Yeah, it's true that I am not living the exact dream that I once hoped I would, but I didn't give up my dreams to raise my kids. Raising my kids IS my dream now. You know this; your priorities have changed since having Lily right? I mean would you agree that her happiness and wellbeing have become infinitely more important than yours?"

"Of course. I would always put Lily first" Rory said without hesitating.

"Then you're completely aware of just how momentous creating this tiny new human being is and how it completely eclipses everything else and changes your view of the world."

Rory sighed. "Of course I am, Lily is incredible and I'd go to the ends of the earth for her, but I just feel like there's no happy medium and it feels sad to be abandoning my dreams after I held on to them for so long."

"I really don't think you should think of it as giving up on your dreams per se because that feels a little negative." Lane said. "For me, on a day-to-day basis, I am simply where I am. I love Zach, I chose to marry him and I choose to stay in this marriage and keep us moving forward. If I have to adjust my expectations a little to fit in with that, so be it, that's what a marriage is all about."

"Lane, am I being selfish?" Rory asked. She knew out of everyone she would always be able to rely on Lane for the truth.

"No, you're not selfish Rory, of course not, you have a lot going on right now. What I would say though is that dwelling on what you might be 'giving up' in order to have a family is not a very useful or healthy way to look at things. The reality is your life is a lot different than you imagined it to be but it doesn't mean it's not something equally great."

Rory wiped away a few tears that had escaped. "Thanks, Lane."

"I haven't helped at all have I?" Lane joked.

"No, you have, you've just given me a few more things to think about is all. Look, I've got to go, I have to get into town to meet the girls. We're going shopping for bachelorette outfits." Rory groaned.

"Oh have fun! Get something slutty!" Lane laughed.

"Now you sound just like my mother" Rory laughed "Are you sure you can't come too Lane, it won't be the same without you there."

"I'd love to but Zach will be on the road, there's just no way I can make it, but hey, we're having the bridal shower at The Dragonfly in a few weeks, that will be fun." Lane said enthusiastically.

Rory ended the call with Lane. She didn't particularly feel any clearer than when she started but she had definitely given her some food for thought.

* * *

"Hey girls, sorry I am late" Rory said as she walked up to where Juliet, Rosemary and Steph were waiting for her. "Her ladyship just didn't want to play ball today," she said gesturing down at Lily who was happily sitting in her stroller munching on a biscuit.

"Aww, Lily just gets bigger and more beautiful every time I see her" Juliet cooed at the little girl.

"She looks more like Logan every time I see her!" Rosemary said. "She's going to be a total heartbreaker."

"There's an element of schadenfreude isn't there, you know, for years people wanted to lock their daughters away from Logan, and one day he'll be trying to lock her away from boys just like him" Steph laughed. "and I can't wait to witness it!"

"Okay, we had better get started. Remember Finn said we had to look super hot and dress to impress" Juliet said.

"Don't worry, I know just the place" Steph announced, "Follow me".

Steph led them to a designer boutique where she was on first name terms with the owner. They spent a couple of hours trying on dozens of different dresses in every color imaginable but in the end, they all decided to opt for little black dresses, with each one being a completely different style to suit their figure and personality. The girls managed to convince Rory into buying a dress, which was nothing like she would normally choose. It was very daring, very sexy and she knew that Logan would absolutely love it.

As the girls twirled in their dresses, Rory sat staring out of the window, looking out at the busy street outside. The others could tell Rory wasn't it but weren't really sure why or how to approach her about it. Rosemary signalled to Steph to do something.

"Well now we've all got a killer dress for the bachelorette, why don't we go and grab ourselves a glass of champagne to celebrate?"

Steph led them out of the boutique and down a little side street to a quiet wine bar that she'd been to many times. Once they were all seated with their drinks Steph went in for the kill.

"Okay Rory, c'mon, what gives?" she asked.

"Huh? Rory said a bit puzzled.

"You've been somewhere else all this time," Steph said.

Rory took a deep breath. She knew that she was being a terrible shopping companion but she didn't really want to get into all the details now. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's nothing, I'm just not really feeling it today."

"Rory…" Rosemary said. "Talk to us"

"Okay, it's just…well, Logan and I had a fight last night and I guess I am still reeling from it a little."

"Everything's okay now though right?" Juliet asked with concern.

Rory wrinkled her nose "Kind of, I guess, things were a little weird this morning…"

"Weird, how?" Steph asked.

"He just wasn't himself," Rory said. "It was a bit awkward."

"That's just Logan," Steph said "You know what he's like, he'll blow off some steam and he'll be back to mauling you 24/7 before you know it" she laughed as she drank the rest of her champagne.

"Here's hoping" Rory smiled as Steph topped up their glasses.


	32. Night Like No Other

Steph was kind of right about Logan, which didn't surprise Rory one iota as out of everyone in their group, she had known him the longest. While they weren't exactly back to tearing each other's clothes off, things had slowly improved with them over the past few weeks and they were pretty much back to normal, existing in a busy world of work, parenting, studying and wedding plans. Some days they felt like ships that passed in the night but at least they were back in a good place again.

Rory had spent enough time thinking over what had been said, both by Logan and by Lane. If she was honest, she was able to see all sides of the argument. Logan was right, it would be really nice for Lily to have a sibling and there was never the right time to have a baby. Lane was right in saying that sometimes you have to adjust your expectations and that your dreams change as your life does but Rory also felt that she was right in saying that she wanted to establish her career first.

While she had been mulling things over she'd had to ask herself some difficult questions. How much time would she give to establishing a career? What if it didn't work out? How long did she actually want to wait to have another baby?

The downside of them never really discussing the issue in great detail was that it still felt like there were a lot of things unsaid, and while they seemed to have been able to push it all to one side, which was somewhat of a relief to Rory, she was very away that things hadn't been resolved. She knew at some point the conversation would come to a head again, but as she was still trying to work out her feelings about it all, she was grateful that Logan, for now, had dropped the issue.

Before they knew it, the bachelor and bachelorette parties were upon them. Rory had insisted on them being held a few weeks before the wedding as she didn't want any drunken accidents or unfortunate bruises spoiling their wedding photos – and that wasn't just about her and Logan, but the whole group of friends had been warned to be on their best behaviour and save the broken limbs and black eyes until the happy couple were safely on their honeymoon.

As had been discussed amongst the friends, the bachelor and bachelorette parties were going to start off separately and Finn had later arranged for them to have VIP entry into a super exclusive club towards the end of the night. Sometimes his working within the entertainments industry came in very handy.

Even though Rory hadn't been fully engaged during their shopping trip, it had in fact been quite successful. Steph had convinced Rory to go all out for the night, and step right out of her comfort zone. Taking her friend's advice she had chosen a gorgeous short black fit and flare dress which featured a keyhole slit halter neckline and a cut-out back with lace panels. It was completely different from anything she owned and was incredibly sexy, flirty and fun.

The girls spent the first half of their night having dinner at an incredibly upscale restaurant before heading to the rooftop terrace where they sipped cocktails and danced under the stars to their favorite songs. Meanwhile, the boys concentrated on doing what they always did best – gambling away money at the casino. The night sped by while the girls were enjoying themselves and before they knew it, it was time to leave for the club and meet the boys. Finn had kindly arranged for a limo to collect them and they all piled in, sipping champagne in the back seats.

The club that Finn had arranged for them to go to, Provocateur, was pretty much the hardest place to get into in New York City. For a long time, it had been the place to be seen and the club was a regular haunt for a very sophisticated crowd that included the likes of models, celebrities and the very rich. It was a swanky hotel nightclub that attracted top DJs and in the summer the club's huge glass ceiling fully retracted. The club was dimly lit, with an indulgent purple and black color scheme. It was the kind of place that once you slid past the velvet ropes, you could easily blow your entire paycheck on a few rounds at the bar, but the people that partied at a club like this, were the kind of people that definitely had the budget to blow a few thousand dollars and not think too much of it.

The boys were already inside when the girl's limo pulled up outside the club. While the girls had been having dinner earlier they'd been giggling about all kinds of things, confessing their deepest darkest secrets and trading stories. Slightly drunk on tequila they'd even shared a few of their sexploits and it was at that point that the cogs started turning and an idea set in Rory's mind. Feeling a little naughty, and having had a few drinks she announced to her friends that she was going to make the evening even more fun for her fiance. Before she entered the club she pulled out her cell phone out of her bag and sent Logan a message.

 _"_ _Whatever happens tonight - Just go with it"_

Logan looked at the message slightly confused. He wasn't sure what Rory was talking about, was that message even meant for him? It was intriguing all the same. Just then he saw Rory walk into the club, he couldn't believe how incredible she looked. He had never seen her in a dress like that before and her super high Louboutins made her bare legs look even longer. It felt like every guy in the place had turned to look at his fiancé and he felt extremely proud and a little smug. He caught her eye as he sat in a booth just across from the bar but she looked away and carried onto the bar.

Having filled the girls in on her plans for the evening, they left her to it and walked over to the booth to join the guys. Rory went and took a seat at the bar and of course, dressed how she was, it wasn't long before some guy walked over to join her. Obviously fancying his chances he offered to buy her a drink, which she accepted with a smile. Rory could feel Logan's eyes boring into her.

Logan couldn't stand to watch some guy trying to get up close to his fiancé and wanted to get up to go to her but Steph pulled him back.

"Did you not get her text?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Logan looked at Steph "Yes but…" he gestured towards the bar where his fiancé was currently deep in conversation with a handsome stranger.

"It's a game" she winked putting her finger on her lips as if to tell him to ssh.

Logan looked back over to the bar where Rory was now flirting wildly with the guy that had approached her. She looked over at Logan and gave him a sly wink, and he suddenly realized what she was doing. Remembering back to when they had been lying in bed one day, they had once talked about their fantasies and here was Rory acting out one of Logan's. He sat back and watched this guy hitting on his fiancé with amusement but once he saw that the guy had slid his hand on to her and moved it to rest on the bare skin on her back, he knew it was time to get in the game.

He got up from the booth and walked over to where she was sitting at the bar. He stood so close to her that she could feel the energy pulsating between them but he didn't look at her or talk to her instead he waited for the bartender to serve him.

Rory felt nervous but tried to play it cool as Logan sat down at the empty seat next to her. He didn't even acknowledge her presence as he struck up a conversation with the bartender.

"Scotch please," he said. As he pulled his wallet out of his pocket he accidentally nudged Rory's arm, making her spill a little of the drink she was sipping. She turned to look at him, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Oh I am sorry, I hope I didn't get you all wet?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

She shifted a little in her seat. "Just a bit" Rory smiled "but it's fine, don't worry about it," she said as she took the napkin he offered her and used it to sponge down her dress gently.

"Let me buy you another?" Logan gestured. Over the top of Rory's head, he locked eyes with the guy that had been flirting with her making it clear that it was now his turn to make a play for this girl.

"Sure," Rory said as she knocked back the rest of her champagne before she turned back to the stranger on her left. Logan ordered her a glass of champagne and handed it over to her before he went back to sit at the booth next to Finn and Colin who looked at him questioningly.

"What's going on over there mate, you need me to step in?" Finn said.

Logan laughed and shook his head.

"Don't bother Finn, Rory can handle herself," Steph said drinking her champagne. "Besides they've got some kinky roleplay thing going on right now, I wouldn't want to get in the middle of that." Steph laughed.

"Really?" Finn said with a big smile "I'm impressed Huntz, that's pretty damn hot".

Logan looked over at his fiancé and the stranger at the bar. Though he was feeling insanely jealous, it was also incredibly hot to watch his incredibly sexy fiancé flirting with someone else, knowing that he would be the one taking her home. Rory and the man at the bar were sat close together so that they could hear each other over the pulsating music, their shoulders touching. Every now again he would lean into say something to her and his mouth would brush against her ear. Logan knew that her somewhat revealing dress meant that every time she bent forward to take a drink the guy was checking her out. Eventually, it started to bother him more and more, so he decided to ask her to dance.

Rory continued talking to the stranger for a little while. Taking small sips of her champagne she looked around at all of their friends dancing, drinking, talking and having a great time. After a while she finally made her excuses and getting up from the bar she headed towards the bathroom. Before she could Logan stopped her in her tracks.

"Oh, you again, thanks for the drink," she said as she brushed her hair out of her blue eyes.

"You know, you look very familiar" Logan said. "I feel like maybe we've already met…" he whispered in her ear as he put his hand on her waist.

"I don't think so," she said as she shook her head. She was feeling so turned on and Logan recognized the flush in her cheeks.

"Do you want to dance?" his voice said, low and heavy against her ear.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I think you should dance with me," he said firmly.

"Oh really, and why is that?" Rory said as she leant back against the wall and sent him a challenging look.

Logan placed his hands either side of her, trapping her where she stood. He moved his head close to her ear. "Because there are at least three guys in this club who are hoping that you'll be leaving with them and I want to show everyone who's really going to be tearing that dress off you tonight."

Rory's breath hitched at this words and Logan led Rory back out onto the dancefloor where they moved their bodies up close to each other. Dancing with Rory like this reminded Logan of just how sexy she was. In her little black dress, wearing only a tiny thong and no bra, it felt like she was almost naked except for the thin layer of cotton that was between them. It took all his restraint not to take her right there, right then.

The guy that Rory had been talking to was shooting daggers across the dance floor at them and Logan loved the idea that this guy thought he was in with a chance with the hottest girl in the club and yet Logan was the one that was going to get to take her home and ravage her.

Logan gently ran his hand down her naked spine and Rory moaned softly to his tender touches. She wondered if he knew just how much he was turning her on at the moment? It was maddening and all kinds of frustrating, but she loved it, and she wanted more. Logan ran his hand up her thigh and, feeling bold, brushed his hand briefly over her lace panties, he groaned at finding the dampness there.

"Is that for me or him?" he asked with a raised eyebrow meeting Rory's eyes.

She didn't answer. She simply reached up and pulled his head down for a searing kiss that had him clamping his hands onto her ass, holding her tight against his impossibly hard erection. When she pulled back, her eyes shone brightly with lust.

Rory felt Logan's hand reach around behind her neck and he pulled her closer. "Come on let's get out of here." Logan breathed into her ear.

She toyed around with playing hard to get, but her enthusiasm for moving the night along won out and she swallowed hard. "Okay, let's go."

Logan dragged Rory by the hand and led the way out of the club. He turned around to look at her and gave her a lustful wink. They made their way to their hotel and once in the elevator, Logan forced her up against the side of the elevator car. He kissed her passionately and pulled away to drink in the sight. He looked over appreciatively.

"Do you like what you see?" she asked biting on her lip.

"You know I do, but if we don't start moving a bit faster, we are not going to make it to the hotel room."

Capturing her hand, he led her out of the elevator, punched a sequence of numbers into the keypad and pulled her through the doorway into the hotel room. The door slammed shut behind them. Logan backed her Rory up against the wall. Grabbing her wrists, he pinned them above her head, his hips pressed hard against hers. They kissed, their hungry, open mouths locked together. It had been a while since they had been so frantic for each other.

Rory reached down and unzipped his pants. Groaning, Logan tightened his grip on her wrists with one hand. His other hand released the ties holding her dress in place. The black material fell to the ground and as he continued to hold her hands above her head and dipped his mouth to take her nipple into his mouth, slowly sucking and tugging at it. Rory moaned as Logan took his other hand traced her nipple with his fingers. He reached his hand down, brushing over her stomach, feeling her quiver as he moved, and he slowly started to stroke between her legs, feeling her desire and her warmth sliding between his fingers, throbbing and pulsing with every movement.

She moaned into the kiss and pushed him backwards, towards the bedroom. By the time they made it to the dimly-lit bedroom, she had his pants off. He removed his boxers without breaking the kiss and she gently pushed him back onto the bed.


	33. Another Day of Sun

Rory lay absolutely still in the bed in their hotel room. The warm morning sunshine was streaming through the window and she could feel it heating up her face. Carefully, she opened one eye very very slowly, not really daring to move her head too far off the pillow, as she remembered how much alcohol she had consumed the night before and she was pretty afraid of how much it was going to hurt. She lifted it gently and looked around the room.

"Ow," she said before putting her head back down on the pillow.

"Sore head Ace?" Logan laughed as he placed two aspirin and a large glass of water by the side of the bed.

She let out an audible groan. "What time is it?"

"It's just coming up to 9 am, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we've got a brunch date with the guys at 10 am so you're going to need to get moving".

"Nooooo," Rory said as she pulled the pillow over her head "I'm too tired and I'm too sleepy. Need coffee" she grumbled.

"Don't worry, I'll get you coffee Ace, but I can't do anything about the tired and sleepy, you brought that all on yourself madam."

Rory pulled her head out from under the pillow. "I did?" she said as she looked at Logan suspiciously.

"Sure. You seemed to just find me so wildly irresistible last night, you couldn't keep your hands to yourself" he smirked.

Rory's memories of the night before were pretty hazy, but she knew that it had involved a whole lot of alcohol and a fair amount of intense sexual activity. They had both been incredibly turned on after all the playing around and teasing at the club and it had resulted in some of the hottest sex they had ever had.

"Oh. Right. Yeah." Rory said as she remembered what had happened when they had returned to the hotel. "Well, I've got to say, from what I can recall, it was worth the eye bags I will be carrying around with me today."

"And what's this?" Logan said holding up a piece of paper "I can't believe you actually took that guy's phone number." He said pretending to be hurt.

"I thought it might come in useful, you know, in case we don't work out" she laughed as she threw the pillow at him.

Logan jumped down on the bed and leant over to kiss her. "No chance of that," he said. "Last night was nothing short of amazing Ace" he whispered into her ear. "I hope we get to do a rerun sometime."

"It was pretty good" she agreed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her, before pressing her lips to his and deepening the kiss with her tongue.

"Ace…" Logan said as he started to pull away from her. "As much as I'd like to continue last night's festivities, and believe me, I would REALLY like to continue last night's fun, we've got less than one hour until we have to meet the guys…so go have your shower."

"You're so bossy" Rory pouted. "Okay, I'm going," she said as she threw her legs over the side of the bed. "But only on one condition," she said as she looked back over at her shoulder at him.

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"You have to come with me," she said suggestively.

That was an offer Logan could not refuse.

* * *

Just over an hour and a half later, they finally made it out of their hotel room and managed to meet and their friends for brunch. It was a searing hot August day in New York City and Rory was glad that she had packed an ultra-light cotton sundress to help keep her cool and more importantly, she was wearing her very dark oversized Chanel sunglasses – her eyes were so not ready for the daylight.

"Ah, here they are, the lovely couple" Finn announced as they walked into the bar "You're late."

"I know, I know. Rory is a bit hungover this morning and I had to help get her into the shower" he winked at her and traced his fingers along the back of her neck.

Rory blushed and felt a shiver down her spine. The mindblowing orgasm that he had just given her with those fingers was still very fresh in her mind. One thing was for sure it had certainly taken her mind of her hangover.

"Okay, we so do not need to know," Rosemary said, putting her hands over her ears.

"Where did you two kids get to last night anyhow?" Finn teased. "One minute Rory is playing around with some fella, no doubt sending him away with completely blue balls. Next thing you two are practically going at it on the dance floor and then boom, you're nowhere to be seen."

"I think you can probably use your imagination Finn," Colin said, deadpan.

Rory twiddled with hair. "Oh we had to go, something came up…" she said not quite making eye contact.

"I bet it did," Finn said suggestively and Rory rolled her eyes. "Did you have fun playing your kinky games last night?" he asked. "Got to say, Gilmore, I did not know you had it in you."

Rory blushed once again. She was far less confident without the Dutch courage but thankfully Juliet stepped in to rescue her.

"Don't mind him, he's just jealous"

"That's damn right love, I am. Logan, I've said it before but I'll say it again, you're one lucky son of a bitch." Finn shook his head.

"I know I am," he said as he put his arm around Rory and kissed her more passionately than was decent for a Sunday brunch.

"Oh god, would you ever just get a room you two" Steph said as she threw her napkin at them.

"We already have one" Logan smirked, "And it got put to excellent use last night".

"Okay, okay," Rory said as she waved her hand "Can we please just talk about something other than our sex life for once? Or at least order some food, I'm starving!"

* * *

Rory felt a fair bit brighter after their brunch and decided to make the most of their time in New York. She was going to try and push through her hangover and get a few wedding things sorted while she was there. There were only a couple of weeks left to go before the big day and she was becoming more and more conscious that she needed to start ticking off the things to do list as soon as possible.

Logan offered to go with her but he was secretly pleased when she said she was happy to go on her own as he had something he wanted to do too, so they said a quick goodbye and went their separate ways for a few hours.

First on Rory's list were the dresses for Lily and Fifi. She had decided that the girls really were too little to embrace being flower girls - it was a lot to expect them to behave and conform – but she still wanted them to have beautiful dresses, especially now that they were both up and on their feet.

Last time she had been in the city, she had popped into Bergdorfs and had seen the most perfect dresses, so she headed straight there to go and pick them up. She hadn't bought them when she was there the last time as her mother was with her and Lorelai had talked her out of it, telling her that spending $400 on a dress for a child that was only eighteen months was complete lunacy. Rory kind of agreed - it was lunacy but Shira had kindly offered to buy the dresses for her granddaughters and therefore money really wasn't a consideration.

Honor and Rory had both thought that with the girls being so close in age it would be so precious for them to wear matching dresses. The dress that Rory had picked out for the girls was an ivory and gold floral dress. It oozed pure luxury with embossed flowers embroidered onto the bodice, a soft chiffon sash bow to the back and a full feminine skirt boasted layers of soft tulle. She picked up two pairs of ivory ballet pumps to go with them.

Meanwhile, Logan was across town on a mission of his own – he was out shopping for a present for Rory. He wanted to give her something special on their wedding day, something she could keep forever. As he really wanted her to be able to wear it at their wedding, he had taken Steph shopping with him as she had seen Rory's wedding dress and would know what matched well.

Being reassured by Steph that the necklace would work well with her gown, Logan settled on the 'Sunflower by Harry Winston' diamond necklace. He listened as the overly flirtatious sales assistant told him how the Sunflower Collection was inspired by the beauty of nature and featured a cluster, where the diamonds are set with minimal metal to maximize the light returned. It had thirty-one round brilliant diamonds, and despite it's $40,000 price tag it was pretty versatile and wearable piece that would transition well from day to night. He made his purchase, said his goodbyes to Steph and headed off to meet Rory to head back to Hartford.

* * *

When they returned home, Lily was so excited to see her mommy and daddy she was practically bouncing off the walls. As it was such a beautiful sunny evening Logan thought it would be nice to Lily to the park for a play before bedtime. Rory had intentions to do some studying but decided to go along with them.

At the park, Lily sat happily on the grass playing with a new ball that Marta must have picked up over the weekend. Logan and Rory sat on the bench nearby just watching her play and chatter to herself. Rory feeling quite contented lay back with her head on Logan's lap and he gently played with her hair. It felt like a pretty perfect moment, the type Rory wished she could capture and hold on to forever. As she sat there completely relaxed and at easy with the man that she loved with all her heart, watching their beautiful daughter playing in the sunshine, she really didn't think that it was possible that she would ever be happier than in this moment.

"What are you smiling at?" Logan asked when he looked down at her.

Logan had been watching Rory for a while, she was obviously off somewhere deep in her own thoughts and he wondered just what was going on in that head of hers.

"What?" Rory said as Logan pulled her out of her thoughts.

"You were just smiling to yourself"

"Oh. I'm just happy" she sighed.

"About?" Logan questioned.

"Everything, all of this. It's just perfect isn't it, and she's so perfect." Rory said as she looked over at her daughter. "I love our life together"

"Me too," Logan said as he leant down to give her a gentle kiss on the head. "And you are right she is pretty damn perfect, we're very lucky parents indeed."

Rory took a deep breath, there was something she wanted to say to Logan but she didn't really know how to broach the subject.

"Logan…you know when we spoke about having more children…" she paused and Logan jumped in.

"Rory" Logan shook his head "It's fine, we don't need to go over that again" he smiled.

"I know, but I…"

"Honestly, we talked about it enough. I overreacted but I completely understand your reasons. To be honest, it was a bit crazy of me to suggest it, you were right, it's not the right time."

"Really?" Rory looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah" Logan smiled "We'll know when it's the right time Ace," he said as he gave her a squeeze.


	34. Everything Changes

The next few weeks passed by in an absolute complete blur of wedding arrangements. There was still so much to finalize and there were endless meetings with florists and caterers. Although they were both really looking forward to their forthcoming nuptials, Rory and Logan were also starting to look forward to when it would all be over and they could get back to normality. Now they found themselves just a couple of days away from the wedding and Rory had another full day ahead of her.

Rory walked down into the kitchen where Logan was sitting reading a newspaper. He looked up at her and handed her a coffee. She stood next to him at the counter and took a small sip before absentmindedly staring out of the window for a few moments.

"Earth to Rory!" a loud voice snapped her right out of her daydream.

"Oh sorry, did you say something?" she said as she put her cup down on the counter.

"You were away with the fairies then Ace" Logan smiled "Everything okay?"

"Oh yes," she smiled back "Fine, just a really busy day ahead."

"The bridal shower?" Logan questioned offering Rory a muffin. She shook her head.

"Yeah, well that and I have to head to New York this morning to have a final dress fitting. I could really do without that this morning but at least I finally get it bring it back home, and Honor is coming with me, we're going to stop and have lunch".

"Well, that'll be nice. What time are you going to be back later?" Logan said as he took a bite out of his muffin.

"Not sure" Rory shrugged. "You know mom, she could hold me hostage for hours. Don't keep Lily up to see me though, she's got a long few days ahead of her. What are you planning to do today?"

"Oh, Lily and I have a very full day ahead of us. Mainly, we're going to be playing in the swimming pool"

"Ugh, do you want to swap?" Rory pretended to beg.

* * *

Rory and Honor headed into New York for the dress fitting. Luckily it fit like a glove and there were no further alterations needed so all Rory had to do was pay the balance and take the dress away. After they had got the dress packed away safely in Honor's SUV, they went for lunch. Honor took Rory to a new restaurant, Riverpark, which with its expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, had impressive views over New York City and the East River.

"So Rory, only a few days to go, how are you feeling about the wedding?" Honor asked.

"Fine. Well, kind of fine. Excited, nervous, scared…but I know it's absolutely the right thing for us. Your brother is a pretty special guy." Rory smiled.

"He really is." Honor agreed. "And I am so glad you found each other again, I know he thinks the world of you and Lily of course."

The waiter came over to take their order and offered them the wine list. Honor took it off him nervously. "I'm okay, but Rory, do you…" she started with sighing heavily. "Oh dear god, it's no good, I just can't lie to you, I'm pregnant." Honor said.

"Wow, Honor! Congratulations!" Rory said with a big smile. "That's amazing news!"

"Thanks" Honor smiled sweetly. "Nobody knows yet so don't tell anyone, but I figured you'd wonder why I wasn't having a glass of wine with lunch. Oh but please don't let me stop you!"

"No, it's fine, I'll have some water please," Rory said to the waiter. "So…pregnant!"

"Yes, it was a bit of a surprise, well not really that much of a surprise because we'd been trying but even so, I didn't think it would happen so soon, you know?" Honor rambled. "Do you think you and Logan will have any more children?" Honor said.

"Erm…well…I…" Rory stumbled over her words and looked down at her drink.

"Oh my god! You're pregnant!" Honor exclaimed.

"What!" Rory's head snapped up.

"You are pregnant! Does Logan know?"

Rory shook her head. "I only found out yesterday and I haven't quite worked out how to tell him about it."

Honor cocked her head to one side. "What's the problem? He'll be thrilled surely?"

"I guess so…I mean yeah, he will be thrilled. It's just that we've been dancing around this issue for the past few months and it kind of caused a big fight. He wanted me to stop taking the pill and I told him I didn't want to have any more children yet."

"Oh dear" Honor grimaced.

"Yeah, and then we didn't really talk about it for a while, but when I did bring it up again Logan said he agreed that it wasn't the right time…"

"So I take it this wasn't a planned pregnancy then?" Honor said.

"Far from it!" Rory laughed.

"Then, what happened?"

"I'll give you the short story. Basically, it involves me, Logan, a hotel room and way too much alcohol." Rory grimaced remembering the amazing night they'd had in the hotel the night of their bachelor and bachelorette party. She had been too drunk and then too hungover to remember to take her pill. It had only occurred to her a few days later.

"Ah they happy way a lot of babies are conceived I imagine" Honor winked. "Are you happy about it?" she asked carefully.

Rory bit her a lip while she tried to decide how honest to be with Honor.

"I think right now I would go with shocked, rather than happy. I think that might be more apt at the moment." Rory sighed with a nervous smile. "I don't know. To be honest, I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm just very confused right now. I was adamant I didn't want to have another baby, then recently I started to warm to the idea but now it's happened, I feel all panicky like I don't know what I want. It's so frustrating."

"Well the hormones really don't help that little problem," Honor said gently.

"You're right about that. I feel like I am going crazy. I have all these thoughts about the career that I am not going to have and for some reason, I just have this fear of ending up alone. I did it once on my own and it was really hard."

"You need to talk to Logan about how you are feeling Rory. A new baby isn't the end of the world and just think, it's going to be a whole different experience with Logan by your side. I know he can be a complete ass sometimes but he loves you, he's not going to ever leave you on your own" Honor said confidently.

* * *

Both ladies had sworn the other to absolute secrecy and after lunch Honor and Rory headed to Stars Hollow where Lorelai was hosting a bridal shower at The Dragonfly Inn.

Rory hadn't really wanted too much fuss so Lorelai had arranged for Sookie to prepare them a sumptuous Alice in Wonderland style afternoon tea in the dining room.

Lorelai had of course gone all out on the decorations, hiding menus inside vintage books, laying out teapots adorned with kings and queens and furnishing each table with a ticking clock. There were handmade paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and all around were strewn little golden keys and vases filled with red and white roses.

Sookie in her typical style had also completely run with the theme. From the White Rabbit cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches to the Mad March Hare vanilla pocket watch macaroon to Alice's cinnamon, apple and peach "Drink Me" potion – everything had been planned and executed to absolute perfection.

Rory loved what her mom and Sookie had done and almost felt a little bit overwhelmed by it all. She could feel tears starting to form and she cursed her stupid hormones, afraid that she was going to give the game away but luckily Honor stepped into pull her back before she blubbed. She felt really lucky to have her by her side, she was like the older sister that she never had and she appreciated their friendship.

All the important ladies in Rory's life had made it to the shower and she was really grateful for everyone coming. It had given her an opportunity to catch up with her friends like Lane and Paris, as she realized that on the actual wedding day she was going to be pulled in all directions.

The highlight for Rory was when Lorelai got up and gave a speech. It was totally unexpected but Lorelai informed the party that as she was unlikely to get her say at the wedding she was having it now!

 _"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome! I hope you've enjoyed the afternoon tea. In case there is anyone here that doesn't know me, I am Lorelai, mother of the bride. I just wanted to say a few words today about my precious baby girl._

 _It is with incredible love, joy and pride that I stand here today to wish my beautiful daughter, a blessed life, full of happiness, joy and much laughter._

 _She is the sunshine to all that know her and truly, as all children are, the most beautiful gift and blessing I have ever been given. Rory, I am delighted with the person you have become and I am so very proud of you, I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to have you not only as my daughter but as my very best friend._

 _From the first time I met Logan – and I mean the first 'proper' time, not our actual first meeting where I found him and my daughter half-naked at my mother's wedding… I knew that Rory loved him more than anything else in the world. I may not always have approved but I think it's fair to say that most of us can only wish for a relationship as wonderful as theirs. They were both so young when they first met and they have weathered some tough storms together over the past few years, I respect them both massively for that._

 _Rory, your wedding day will be one the happiest days of your life, but you've got much more to come. You're heading out on an amazing journey together and I wish you every happiness. I know you are going to have so many happy years together. I really do wish you both the best of luck. I love you, Rory."_

If Rory had thought that she was going to cry before, well the floodgates were well and truly opened by her mother's speech. She stood up and walked over to where her mom was standing and gave her the biggest hug.

"I love you too mom. Thank you, for everything" Rory said through tears.

* * *

Rory opened the door to their house to find Logan fast asleep on the sofa. She crept over and sat next to him.

"Hey," she said as she shook him gently "I'm home"

Logan opened his eyes. He yawned and sat up. "Wow, didn't mean to fall asleep there, what time is it?"

"A little after 9 pm. Hard day playing?" she joked.

He smiled at her "This daddy thing, it's harder work than I ever thought it would be. How was New York? And the shower?"

"Great. My dress fit perfectly and I got it back in one piece – and no you can't sneak a peek because mom has it for safe-keeping" she rolled her eyes.

"You're considering Lorelai a safe pair of hands? I think I would have taken my chances with Lily…" Logan joked. "Was Honor okay? I haven't spoken to her in a while"

"Yes, she was great, we had a nice leisurely lunch at this amazing restaurant in the city and then we went to the Dragonfly where mom and Sookie had put together this whole Alice in Wonderland themed party – it was amazing. They'd made so much effort and it was nice to catch up with everyone. And then my mom did this speech…which I can't even get into right now or else I will cry again." Rory said trying to waft away the tears before they fell.

"So it was a good day then?" Logan smiled.

"It was all good" Rory smiled and nodded. "Hey, shall we just go and get into bed and watch a movie up there? I could do with a snuggle, it's been a really long day".

"Yeah, let's go to bed," he said as he stood up and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm just going to go jump in the shower"

"Okay," Rory said with a smile. "I'll turn off everything down here." She watched Logan walk up the stairs. She felt bad for keeping a secret from him but she just wasn't ready to fall down that rabbit hole quite yet.

 **A/N: Just to let you know this will be the last update until next Wednesday as I have a super busy weekend!**


	35. Dancing In The Dark

Finally, after what felt like years of planning and waiting, it was the night before the big wedding of the year. As tradition dictated, Rory and Logan found themselves apart and had booked into separate hotels in New Haven ahead of the main event. Rory having done a final check, making sure everything was in place for the big day, was trying to relax in her room with Honor and Steph – the nerves were starting to kick in.

"So are you really ready to do this?" Honor asked Rory.

"I really am," Rory said. "A bit nervous but that's perfectly natural right?"

Honor smiled and nodded. "Totally, don't you remember I had a mini freak out right before marrying Josh?"

"I never actually thought I'd see the day" Steph said as she shook her head "I mean, seriously, if you'd have asked me a few years ago whether I thought that Logan Huntzberger, THE Logan Huntzberger, would be able to settle down with just one girl, I would have laughed you out the room" she said.

"Hey that's my brother you're talking about," Honor said as she put her hands on her hips.

Steph raised an eyebrow. "And Honor, I am sure you know his reputation, as well as any of us, do..."

"True" Honor giggled. "It has to be said...well done Rory, you tamed the beast."

"And skipped the line. I still don't know how you managed to pull that off." Steph teased.

Rory laughed "It wasn't intentional, I didn't even know there was a line! You know I wasn't even that interested in Logan to start with, I thought he was a complete and utter ass but then as I got to know him better I started to find him..."

"Cute?" Steph giggled.

"Well yes, but actually I was going for intriguing. When I first met him he was so arrogant and cocky, and I was sure he was just another privileged rich boy playing with daddy's money but then as I slowly got to know the guy behind all of that...well, there was so much more there. He was funny, super intelligent, kind, compassionate..." Rory trailed off.

"And pretty good in bed I've heard," Steph said.

"Oh come on. I do not want to know" Honor said as she put her fingers in her ears.

Steph threw a pillow at Rory. "Come on Rory, spill. We all know that you two are like dogs on heat."

"La la la la la...I can't hear you" Honor shouted.

Rory shook her head "All I will say is that I definitely have no cause for complaints in that department." They all fell about giggling but were soon interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing.

Rory reached over to the side of bed to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Gilmore? This Lynda, I am calling from Reception. We have a message for you from a Mr Huntzberger?"

"Oh, okay" Rory pulled a face at her friends, slightly puzzled as to why Logan would be leaving a message for her.

"Mr Huntzberger has asked us to pass the message on that he would like you to meet him outside the Sterling Memorial Library at 9 pm this evening."

Rory looked at the clock. It was 8.30pm now. "Okay, thank you," she said replacing the receiver.

"What was that all about?" Honor asked.

"Logan, being all mysterious and asking me to meet him..." Rory shrugged.

"Knowing Logan he probably just wants one last quickie before you're old and married." Steph joked.

"In the courtyard of the Library?" Rory raised an eyebrow and laughed. She pulled on her shoes and threw on a cardigan. "I'll be back in a bit."

* * *

Rory nervously made the short walk from the hotel over to the library. She wasn't sure why she was so on edge, she was already feeling nervous about the wedding and now this call from Logan had set all kinds of thoughts running through her head. Why did he want to see her? Was something the matter? As she approached the library she could see Logan waiting patiently outside for her. There was nobody else around as the area had been shut off for the wedding preparations. This normally didn't happen but the Huntzbergers and Gilmore's had both made such weighty donations to Yale in the past, that they were getting the VIP treatment.

"What's going on Logan?" she asked tentatively as she walked up to him, worried that perhaps he was having second thoughts.

"Nothing" he smiled "I just felt the need to see you one last time as my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Did I say I was changing my name...?" Rory teased him as he leant in to kiss her lightly on the lips. Her emotions were all over the place and she could feel her heart swell. She had no idea how she was going to get through the day tomorrow.

They sat down together on the cool grass and kicked off their shoes. It was a balmy September evening and one of Rory's favorite times of the year. She lay down on the grass and placed her head in Logan's lap, as they looked up at the starry sky above them. They passed the time talking about all manner of things - anything and everything including their crazy hopes and dreams for the future, both wondering exactly what path their lives were going to follow.

"I never thought we'd be here you know," Logan said as he ran his fingers through Rory's hair.

"Huh?" Rory looked up at him.

"When we first started fooling around at your grandparent's wedding we were just kids, weren't we? Would you have thought then that one day we would have ended up here?"

Rory paused for a moment. "Absolutely not, it never would have crossed my mind. Especially when we embarked, on the whole, no strings thing."

"I knew that was a wrong move from the start" Logan laughed "I tried to tell you that you were special and that it would be something right away, which it was."

"Yeah, it really did turn into something straight away" Rory mused. "Though I knew way before then that we would be something, or at least that I wanted us to be something."

Logan smiled. "Really? When?"

"The Life and Death Brigade event, just after you made me jump off that crazy tower. I was terrified but then it was such a rush and when we landed, all I wanted you to do was kiss me, right there."

"I wanted to" Logan admitted.

"and at that dreadful male Yale party my grandparents threw, and Dean ended it right there in front of everyone. In truth, I was more upset about the public humiliation rather than my relationship ending. It was completely wrong with Dean and then you were being all kind and all I could think about was you."

"Damn Ace, I was a complete disappointment huh. But I think I've more than made up for it since then?" he smiled as he kissed her.

"Oh I'd say so," she said as she kissed him right back.

Suddenly Logan stood up, pulling Rory up with him.

"Dance with me" he whispered softly in her ear. His breath touching her ear made Rory shiver.

"Dance? We can't dance? There's no music Logan!" Rory laughed.

"Oh live a little. We don't need music" he said as he slipped one arm around her waist and took her hand in his. "Tomorrow they'll be so many people around, I just want a moment for ourselves, ahead of the madness."

"You know, this will be a great scene for when they make a cheesy Lifetime movie about us" Rory joked, but she laid her head comfortably on Logan's shoulder as they swayed to the imaginary music.

Dancing there alone, barefoot on the grass, in the very spot that they would be married tomorrow felt incredibly special and impossibly romantic. Rory knew that whatever happened in their lives, that it would be a moment that she would remember forever.

"Logan, I really need to tell you something," she said as she pulled away from him.

He looked at her concerned. "This sounds serious. Do I need to worry about cold feet?"

"God, no it's nothing like that" she shook her head. "I mean, definitely not, we are SO doing this. It's just..." she took a deep breath and looked up at him with her big blue eyes "...Logan, I'm pregnant." She smiled a nervous smile waiting for him to respond.

"What? For real?" he asked open-mouthed. Out of everything that he could have imagined she was going to say, that was not even on the list.

"For real" she nodded.

"And you're sure?" Logan asked.

"Uh-huh. One hundred percent in fact. Five pregnancy testing kits would firmly back me up on this" she joked.

"I...I...don't know what to say," Logan said as he put his hand over his mouth.

"Wow. It's not often you're rendered speechless Huntzberger. I do hope that it's in a good way though"

"Of course, of course, it is Ace," he said sweeping her up in his arms and squeezing her tight. "You know I think this is amazing news, the BEST news...but you..." he shook his head "I mean...how do you feel about it...because I know..."

"Yeah," she said as she chewed the inside of her cheek nervously, she knew what he was trying to get at. "I'll be honest, I was pretty shocked, to say the least, but I have had a few days to get used to the idea and well, it's pretty exciting isn't it."

"It is exciting," Logan said squeezing and kissing. "We get to go through it all together this time, but you're really okay with it Rory, I need to know that..because if you're not..."

"Logan, relax, I am fine with it. Okay, I had a tiny freak out about it but I'm good now"

"But you wanted to finish grad school first and get a job..."

"And I will" Rory nodded. "I've thought about it all and everything is possible. I've got a long time to go and I'll get as much done at school as possible and then take a break from school for a semester or two. We've still got Marta when I want to get back into studying..."

Logan nodded "That sounds like a plan but what about after, you wanted to work Rory and I want that for you too.'

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it," Rory said as she grabbed hold of Logan's hand.

There was no denying that Rory had been dead-set against having another baby but she'd recently started to warm to the idea, realising that her life didn't have to be all or nothing. She'd had a lot of thoughts about it all and when she discovered she was pregnant she had wanted to get her own feelings sorted in her head before telling Logan about the baby. Rory had been so confused and conflicted when she found out but she was happy now and that was the absolute truth.

"I'm not complaining, but how did this even happen, I mean, we're always so careful, aren't we?" Logan said as he scratched his head.

"Well maybe we are not always as careful as we might like to think, seeing as this is the second time in my life I have found myself 'accidentally' pregnant!" she laughed "but well, we got a little caught up in New York and err I forgot to take my pill, so this one is all on me." She rolled her eyes. "Literally nobody else to blame but myself for this predicament," she said as she tapped her tummy.

"Aww that's not true Ace, I think there's a good chance I may have played a part in this, along with your old friends' tequila and champagne of course" he winked. "Who else knows?"

"Nobody. Oh, that's not true, Honor knows"

"Honor?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"She kind of guessed at lunch the other day and I couldn't lie to her after she'd just told me what she had told me," Rory said cryptically as she tapped the said of her nose.

"What did you she tell you?" Logan said with a raised eyebrow.

"You did not hear this from me but she's pregnant too. Anyhow, I really don't want to tell anyone else yet, I want our wedding day to be our wedding day, you know, without a million questions about babies".

"Agreed." Logan nodded "No champagne for you then, bad timing Ace".

"Ugh, I know! Honor is going to discretely make sure that we both have something sparkling yet non-alcoholic in our glasses so we don't give anything away. "

"Perfect. It will be our little secret" he said as gently put his hand on her's and rubbed them over her tummy.

 **A/N: Wahey, back sooner than I thought I would be! It will really help if you listen to Ed Sheeran's 'Perfect' that's the inspiration for this scene! Hope you are still enjoying this story, please review and let me know your thoughts!**


	36. I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do!

It was finally the morning of the wedding and Rory woke earlier than she normally would, around 6 am. She'd had a surprisingly good sleep. Seeing Logan the night before and sharing her news with him had made her relax a little. She lay in her bed quietly for a while. It all felt so surreal. She couldn't believe that their wedding day had finally arrived.

She got out of bed and headed into the shower. By the time she came out Honor, who was staying in the same room as her, was awake and they sat on the bed talking for a little. Rory was glad that their wedding was late afternoon giving them more time to relax and get ready slowly but even so, the day already seemed to be flying by and it wasn't long until the hairstylist had arrived to start setting up. Before she knew it, her hair and make-up had been perfected and it was time to start getting into her dress. With the help of her bridesmaids, she stepped into her dress and Honor did up the buttons on the back before attaching her veil.

With everything on and in place, Rory stood in front of the mirror adjusting her dress. She'd never really felt like a bride until that moment, she could hardly believe that the person in the reflection was her. She took a deep breath, the nerves suddenly getting the better of her. Typically, as could have been expected, the dreaded morning sickness had also chosen today to kick in meaning she had already lost her breakfast of Pop Tarts and croissants. Thankfully she was able to put this down to nerves and nobody else thought any different. For a moment she found herself alone in the hotel room and she sat on the bed watching Lily play on the floor. Enjoying a moment of peace and relaxation. It felt like time had stopped for a moment and she was able to really reflect on the enormity of the occasion. It was one she would never forget.

Lorelai came into the room and sat next to her daughter on the bed. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is fine" Rory smiled "Just taking a breather, you know"

"Nerves?" Lorelai asked her sympathetically.

"A little" Rory admitted to her mother.

Steph tapped gently at the door and Rory looked up as she entered the room carrying an expensive looking gift-wrapped box.

"Logan instructed me to give you this," Steph said with a smile.

Rory raised an eyebrow at her friend and took the box out of her hand. She carefully untied the bow and her breath hitched as she opened it to find the most beautiful diamond necklace that she had ever seen.

"It's called the Sunflower necklace," Steph said. "Logan spent a lot of time picking this out for you" she added as she remembered just how long she had spent out shopping with Logan while he deliberated over what to buy for her.

Rory smiled. Logan was always so thoughtful and somehow he had remembered how much she loved sunflowers. She touched the necklace gently in the box.

"Wow," Lorelai said as she peeked in. "Kiddo, that is something special. Here, let me put it on you" she said as she carefully lifted it out the box and fastened it around her daughter's neck.

Rory stood looking in the mirror as she clasped the necklace to her, feeling pretty overwhelmed. All she really wanted to do in that moment was speak to Logan but she knew her mother and bridesmaids would never let her. She briefly contemplated slipping out to call him but she thought better of it, not knowing whether it would actually make her nerves better or worse.

Meanwhile, in his own hotel room, Logan was getting ready to leave for the wedding, feeling more nervous than he'd ever felt in his life. He had absolutely no doubt that this was what they both wanted – he knew that they both loved each other more than anything in the world. It had just felt like a long haul getting to this point. Everything was going so well for them and he really didn't want anything to go wrong. He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see a message from Steph.

 _"_ _She loved the necklace. S x"_

He really wanted to reply and ask Steph a million other things. He desperately wanted to know just a little bit about how Rory was feeling at that moment but before he could, his cell phone was snatched out of his hand and Colin and Finn grabbed hold of him.

"Come on Huntz, it's time to face the enemy!" Finn said laughing as he dragged him out of the room.

* * *

"Okay, kiddo, this is it. It's time to go, let's get this show on the road." Lorelai said.

"I can't," Rory said as she shook her head.

"What do you mean you can't?" Paris said as Lane put her arm around Rory's shoulder.

"I feel sick," she said as she clutched her tummy.

"It's just nerves Ror," Lorelai said.

"Rory, look at me." Honor said as she stood in front of her. "There's nothing to be nervous about, it's just Logan" she smiled. "You love him, he loves you. That's all you need to remember. Now come on, don't keep my brother waiting." she winked as she led Rory out of the room.

Even though it was just a short distance from the hotel to the library, the girls had decided to take a car to save their feet for the dancing that was going to come later. As Rory stepped out of the car into the sunshine she could hear the music playing.

"Rory, you look amazing." Lorelai smiled "Go knock him dead. I've got to go take my seat. Chris – don't trip and fall on your face" she winked.

"It's not too late to back out kid" Chris joked "I could get that car to come straight back…you just have to say the word"

Rory rolled her eyes at her dad as she took hold of his arm. She watched as her bridesmaids walked towards the opening for the aisle. The little butterflies that had been fluttering around gently in the morning suddenly turned up a notch but all of a sudden Rory was desperate to get going and finally marry her man.

"Are you ready?" Chris turned to his daughter and asked.

Rory looked straight ahead and nodded silently, not quite able to form the words or look her father in the eye.

Logan watched as the bridesmaids walked down the aisle and he took a deep breath, knowing that his fiancé was about to walk out. It felt like his heart was about to explode out of his chest and he couldn't hear the music over the driving pulse of his own heartbeat – until she stepped out and it felt like it had skipped a beat. As Rory came into view Finn leant over and discretely whispered "goddamn your wife is hot" which made Logan break out into his trademark smirk.

All the nerves that had gathered that morning dissipated when he saw her for the time. Logan watched with tears in his eyes as the most beautiful woman in the world walked down a grass pathway between all of their friends and family. He had to blink hard to stop them falling out, Logan Huntzberger did not cry! At least not in public.

Rory held her breath as she prepared to walk down the aisle. All of a sudden, it was time to get married and everyone was looking at her, yet all she could see what Logan. The music started playing Canon in D and for a brief moment she was completely swept away and almost forgot what she had to do next. She felt Christopher grip her arm tighter and start to lead her down the path. She knew there was no way she'd ever be able to say who had been sitting near the aisle as she passed by everyone - everything was a complete blur except for him, the love of her life, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. When her eyes connected with Logans' it almost took her breath away.

Logan couldn't quite believe that he was finally about to make Rory his wife. She looked beautiful, more beautiful than usual if that was possible and as she had made it to the end of the aisle to meet him, they had exchanged knowing looks, both feeling the emotion of the day and acutely aware of the secret they were keeping. Christopher unlinked arms with Rory and she have him a brief kiss before he sat down.

As the ceremony began, Logan leant over to tell her she looked gorgeous. Rory rewarded him with a beaming smile and Logan barely took his eyes off of her the whole time. She felt like the luckiest woman alive.

The ceremony itself passed by in a bit of a blur. Rory felt her hands shaking throughout and Logan reached over to hold onto them to stop her trembling. It almost felt like time had stopped and Rory and Logan were existing in a bubble. As they started to exchange their vows, the rest of the world faded away and all they could see in that moment was each other.

Rory felt her stomach flipping as they recited their wedding vows and prayed hard that it was just nervous energy and that she wasn't about to see the reoccurrence of morning sickness for the second time that day. Although she had heard them many times at other people's wedding, it had never really sunk in just how serious a commitment it is and had never occurred to her just how exciting it was to say them and make that promise to the person that you love with all your heart.

After they had exchanged rings, Colin stood up to do a reading which had been selected by Logan – an excerpt from The Wedding Song by Bob Dylan. Logan had wanted to do something for Rory as she had tirelessly put the whole day together so when they had discussed having some readings he had insisted on choosing one as a surprise.

 _"_ _Oh, can't you see that you were born to stand by my side  
And I was born to be with you, you were born to be my bride,  
You're the other half of what I am, you're the missing piece  
And I love you more than ever with that love that doesn't cease.  
You turn the tide on me each day and teach my eyes to see,  
Just bein' next to you is a natural thing for me  
And I could never let you go, no matter what goes on,  
'Cause I love you more than ever now that the past is gone."_

Rory listened to Colin reading the words Logan had chosen for her and tears formed in her eyes but before she could dwell on it for too long, they were finally pronounced husband and wife. They both immediately relaxed and they sealed the deal with a kiss. Logan and Rory launched into their first kiss as a married couple, to the cheers of their family and friends. In typical style, it was a pretty exuberant display of affection. Rory opened her mouth oh so slightly, teasing Logan with her tongue as she kissed his perfect lips. All he could think about was how much he wanted to get out of there and be alone with his new wife. It was only when Rory heard Lorelai fake a cough that they pulled away from each other and stopped themselves before it got even more inappropriate.

"We did it," Logan said as he looked at Rory.

She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck "Yaaaaay!" she squealed.

After the ceremony that held a cocktail drinks reception amongst the old card catalogues in the library. Rory felt somewhat overwhelmed walking into the drinks reception but as always, Logan took it completely in his stride, holding on tightly to the hand of his new wife as they made their way around their guests. The room was full of people who wanted to talk to them, but Rory felt like she was floating on some kind of cloud and unable to really comprehend what anybody was saying to her.

Before they moved on to the venue for the reception, Logan and Rory went off to a quiet spot to have some photos taken. While the photographer was setting up for the next shot, they sat on the ground, feeling the warmth from the sun and rested their heads together, both realizing that they were finally each other's, forever.

Being announced as Mr & Mrs Huntzberger for the first time as the entered the ballroom was both strange and exciting. They took to the floor for their first dance, where they move slowly to the music. All of a sudden Logan stopped dancing and Rory looked at him, completely confused. Finally after what seemed like minutes but in reality was just seconds, he pulled her close and whispered into her ear "I just want to remember you in this moment forever." He said before they started dancing again.

The rest of the reception was a blur – there was lots of dancing, hugs and best wishes from friends and family. Logan looked over to the dance floor where his new wife was dancing with her bridesmaids. He knew he'd never forget how beautiful she looked or how incredibly happy they both were. Rory was positively glowing with happiness as she swirled around the reception in her flowing white gown. Her dream had been many years in the making, but the reality was finally here.

All too soon, it was time for the last dance of their wedding reception – the quiet end to what had been a wonderful day. Rory leaned her head against her new husband's chest as they slowly danced.

"What are you thinking," he asked

"Just that, even though this amazing day is over, this night is just beginning," she whispered in return, with a slight smile on her face.

Lorelai sat on the side of the room as she watched the couple dancing, whispering in each other's ears. It almost felt like she was intruding on an incredibly private and intimate moment as they were so wrapped up in each other but she couldn't look away. She was so immensely proud of her daughter and she'd never been so radiant and beautiful as she was that day. Lorelai was sitting there gazing contentedly as she watched as Logan delicately placed his hand on Rory's tummy and whisper something in her ear.

"Oh!" Lorelai gasped and covered her mouth with her hand "She's pregnant! Luke, Luke…" she said as she nudged her boyfriend.

"What?" Luke said as he suddenly realised Lorelai was talking to him.

"Rory" she pointed "She's pregnant" she sighed happily as she watched her daughter rest her hand on top of Logan's and break into a giggle before leaning up to kiss her new husband.

* * *

By midnight most of their guests were retiring back to their hotels. Rory and Logan headed back to the hotel they were staying at but not wanting the night to end yet they sat in the bar downstairs with only their closest friends and spent some more time just laughing and talking until Rory could feel herself fading.

"Take me to bed" she whispered suggestively to Logan.

As they got up to their room, Logan unlocked the door, and then carefully swept Rory up into his arms. She let out a giggle as he carried her across the threshold inside and set her down on her feet.

"Finally, alone at last" Logan said as he closed the door behind him. He turned towards his new bride, drinking in her beauty, and their bodies locked together in a passionate kiss.

Warmth flooded Rory's body, and she could feel her pulse racing. She broke away from the kiss and smiled at her new husband, feeling strangely apprehensive.

"What's the matter?" Logan looked at her quizzically.

"I just feel a bit….nervous!" Rory blushed.

Logan laughed. "We've had a child, you're currently pregnant and yet you're nervous about your wedding night? You realize you're no long a virgin right?"

"Don't mock me!" Rory scolded. "It feels different, I mean, I'm your wife now"

Logan smiled at Rory, he'd never been this happy in his entire life.

"I know, and I absolutely love it. Do you want me to help take your dress off?"

"Fast mover Huntzberger…but yes, please" she giggled.

Rory turned away from Logan and he stood behind her slowly undoing her dress. He let it slide down her body and drop to pool at her feet before he wrapped his arms around her waist. Rory leant back into him as he kissed her neck before moving down her shoulders. A faint moan escaped her and she turned her head back to kiss him. Logan ran his hands across her stomach, pausing briefly as he was happily reminded of what she had told him the night before. He moved her hands up her sides and teasingly close to the sides of her breasts. She sighed at the sensation of Logan's lips on her neck. She loved being kissed so softly and slowly. She could feel his breath against her ear. "God, you are so beautiful Rory," he said has he moved his hands up her body and massaged her breasts gently. He continued to kiss her neck and he moaned lustfully as she pushed her body back against his and he could feel his wife's body responding as she turned around to kissed him harder and pulled him closer to her body.

Logan scooped her up into his arms. She squealed and laughed as he deposited her onto the bed, quickly removing his own clothes and climbing on next to her. They kissed, deep and long. He used his hands to explore her body before swapping to his mouth. Logan's hands found the elastic of her panties. Rory opened her eyes and looked at Logan as she raised her hips so he could remove her lacy lingerie before he used his tongue and lips to explore her. Her breath caught and her hand came up to his head as his kisses found her nipples, his tongue circling first one, then the other. She pulled him back up to her, their lips meeting again. Rory opened her legs slightly and started pulling Logan towards her. He knew what she wanted but he held back a little and smiled at her. "No, not yet," he said as began kissing her all over her body. Rory gasped as his head moved lower and she pressed her hips upward. Her back arched as his tongue got to work between her legs and she couldn't help herself as she grabbed his hair and held his head. She writhed on the bed and moaned loudly her body was overtaken with a shudder. She revelled in the warm, tingling tension that flooded her body.

Rory reached down and pulled him up to her. She couldn't keep herself from wanting more and more. She ran her finger under the waist of his boxers before she grabbed them and slid them down. She laid back down on the bed and felt her breathing quicken as Logan slid his body between her legs, positioning himself.

"I love you Mrs Huntzberger," he said as he started to slowly push into her, hard and deep, but still almost painfully slow. They both moaned in the relief and release. Everything in the world felt right when they were together like this – it was how it was meant to be. Rory groaned with pleasure. The feeling of her husband inside her was complete and utter perfection. They fit together as if their bodies were created just for this moment.

"Oh god!" she squealed as Logan started thrusting into Rory increasing his pace. She wrapped her arms and legs around him.

As he brought his lips to hers, she kissed him slowly, her mouth open just enough to allow his tongue to slip between her lips and slide against hers. A soft moan escaped from her into his mouth and Logan knew that he wasn't going to be able to hold back much longer.

He moved his hands between her legs and gently started to rub her. sending Rory toppling over the edge. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut with her head pushed back, she gripped the bed sheets and screamed his name. Seeing his beautiful wife unravel like that before him quickly helped him find his own release and he breathlessly called her name as he came violently.

They lay peacefully tangled together on the bed for a short while so as to catch their breath before Rory hopped into the shower.

"Shall we order some room service?" Rory said as she walked out of the shower rubbing her hair with a towel.

"Worked up an appetite Ace?" Logan said with a smirk.

Rory rolled her eyes at him. ""Starving! I don't think I ate anything all day. I'm not really sure if I was hot or excited but the dress didn't really leave much room for stomach expansion either! And don't forget I am eating for two now…"

Logan picked up the phone to call room service.

"Get pizza!" she shouted and he laughed. Only Rory would want to eat a gourmet dinner of pizza on her wedding day.

Once the pizza arrived they sat together on the bed in their hotel room, eating pizza and talking about the amazing day they'd had. It had been perfect in every way. Logan looked at Rory, completely relaxed and happy and knew that moment would always be one of his best memories of the day.

"Can you believe we are finally married?" Rory asked Logan as they lay down in the bed and she curled herself around his body, her head resting on his chest.

Logan smiled and kissed her softly. "It's pretty much the best feeling in the world," he said before they both closed their eyes and sleep rapidly took hold of them.

 **A/N: Wow I think that was my longest chapter to date. I toyed with splitting it into two but it flowed better together I think. Hope you like it. Thank you for all your lovely comments and reviews on the last chapter, much appreciated and definitely spurred me on to get this chapter finished today!**


	37. Epilogue

More than six months had passed since Logan and Rory had tied the knot in New Haven. The first few months were as blissful as you might expect for a newlywed couple but now that the wedding planning was done and dusted, Logan had thrown himself back into work one hundred per cent while Rory was trying her hardest to smile through the trials and tribulations of her second pregnancy. It hadn't been quite as plain sailing as the first pregnancy and she had been experiencing all kinds of issues from anaemia to sciatica to carpal tunnel syndrome meaning that all-in-all, she had felt pretty crappy for the past few months.

Rory had tried to keep her mood in check but she knew that as the months went on and she felt more and more uncomfortable she was becoming snappy and short with Logan. He was trying to be as patient with her as possible, and do whatever he could to help her but there wasn't a lot he could do to ease the strain. He'd arranged for Marta to move into their spare room to be around more for Lily and try and help Rory to relax more, but nevertheless, Logan still found himself walking on eggshells more often than not – especially given the lack of caffeine finding it's way into Rory's system these days.

Logan walked into the kitchen where Rory was sitting at the counter eating breakfast. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her before kissing the top of her head.

"Good morning beautiful," he said with a smile.

Rory looked up at him and smiled back. "Morning, coffee?" she asked as she got up slowly to pour him a cup. At nearly eight months pregnant, her movements were definitely slowing her down a little.

"Erm..." Logan paused to look at his watch "Sure, why not."

"In a rush?" Rory looked at him puzzled.

"I..no, I just have an early meeting to get to this morning is all," Logan said as he gulped down his coffee.

Rory raised an eyebrow at his jumpiness. "So I was thinking that perhaps I could meet you for lunch today?" she said as Logan was putting on his jacket.

He paused and sighed "That would have been really nice Ace, but, I've, erm, I think I am going to have to work through lunch today, this deal I am working on is taking up more time that I thought."

"Oh, okay," Rory said acting a little disappointed.

"I'll make it up to you...tomorrow maybe? I gotta shoot now." Logan said as he picked up his laptop case and kissed her goodbye.

Rory watched him leave and put down her cup. Things had been a little weird recently between her and Logan and she couldn't help but feel like he was hiding something from her. She hoped it was just her being paranoid but she wasn't sure if it was anything to worry about or not.

"Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking"

"Mom"

"Oh hey Rory, how are you feeling? More importantly, how are those cankles holding up?" Lorelai laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny mom. My cankles are just fine" Rory said sarcastically.

"What can I do for you today oh fruit of my loins" Lorelai asked.

"Logan is having an affair," Rory said matter-of-factly.

"What!" Lorelai yelled down the phone. "Rory?"

"He's cheating on me!" Rory said quietly.

"I...do not understand what you are saying. I mean, are you sure?" Lorelai didn't actually think for one minute that Logan would be cheating on his pregnant wife, but having been on the receiving end of Rory's hormone-induced tongue lashings recently she wanted to tread carefully.

"I've seen messages on his phone from an 'Abigail' and yesterday, I was in Hartford and I saw him in a coffee shop with a blonde woman..." Rory paused.

Lorelai sighed. "Okay, while I admit both of those things out of context could look quite bad, I don't really think that either of those actually equals your amazingly devoted husband being unfaithful to you."

"But something is going on!" Rory complained.

"Perhaps there is something going on with Logan, but you immediately suspect that he's having an affair? Rory this is crazy talk. Logan loves you there is no way he is cheating on you."

"Maybe not, but something is up and I'm going to go find out what. In fact, I am going to go to his office today." Rory said decidedly.

Lorelai grimaced, knowing that her daughter got the fiery impulsive streak from her. "Whatever you feel like you need to do, just take it easy Ror, remember you are eight months pregnant..."

Rory ended the call and found Marta to take care of Lily while she got ready to go out.

* * *

A little while later, Rory squeezed herself behind the wheel of her SUV and drove the short distance to the HPG office in Hartford where Logan was currently working. She was so uncomfortable on the journey that all the way there she was making a silent thank you to the Gods that Logan wasn't in the New York office today. Rory really did not enjoy going into the office to see Logan. His staff all called her Mrs Huntzberger, which of course was her name, but the way they said it set her on edge and they fell over themselves to greet her. Brownnosing was not something that she had ever enjoyed and she suspected she never would.

She parked her car in a visitor space and walked into the reception area at HPG. The girl on the front desk, who Rory had never seen before, looked up at her with an overly sweet smile, bordering on false.

"Good morning, how can I help you," the girl asked.

"I'm here to see Logan Huntzberger," Rory said.

"Do you have an appointment?" the girl asked as she looked at her computer "There's nothing on the schedule..."

Rory rolled her eyes. "No, I don't have an appointment"

"Okay, well, I'll have to speak to his secretary. I can't just let you through. He's a very busy man." she said slightly haughtily "What's your name?"

"Rory Huntzberger, his wife" Rory deadpanned.

A deep crimson hue crept up the face of the receptionist as the penny dropped and she realized whom she was dealing with. "Oh, I'm, s-s-sorry, Mrs Huntzberger. I'll just, erm, let him, erm, know that you are here." She stumbled over her words obviously embarrassed at her faux pas.

"Err, hi Melissa, it's Chelsea. Could you please let Mr Huntzberger know that his wife is here to see him? Oh...okay...Thank you." She said replacing the handset. "Mrs Huntzberger? Melissa said to go right on up."

"Thank you," Rory said as she stepped into the elevator. She felt slightly bad, she'd been a little mean to the receptionist who was just doing her job, but she was in no mood to be messed around today.

When the elevator reached his floor Logan was there waiting to meet her, having been alerted by his secretary that she was on her way up.

"Well this is a nice surprise," Logan said, "To what do I owe the honor," he asked as he leaned into to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Rory brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Can we go to your office?" she said conscious of all the people that were around.

"Sure...is everything okay Ace?" he asked as he closed the door behind them.

Rory sat down on the couch in this office. "Are you having an affair?"

"I beg your pardon?" Logan looked at her, stunned. Of all the things he thought she might be there for that certainly wasn't one of them.

"I asked if you were cheating on me?" Rory said as she looked down at her hands.

"I heard you, I just don't know where this is coming from," Logan said as he leaned back against his desk.

"I saw the messages on your phone from 'Abigail' and I saw you with the blonde yesterday."

Logan pushed his hair back with his hand. "You don't trust me, Rory?"

Rory looked at him and winced. He very rarely called her by her actual name. "I do...but..."

"If you trusted me, you wouldn't be here in my office accusing me of cheating on you after just six months of marriage..." Logan said.

Rory bit her lip. She knew deep down that she was being slightly ridiculous. This was Logan and she knew that he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

"Ugh, I do trust you, Logan. I'm sorry, I do. God, it's these hormones, they are just making me a bit crazy" she said as she dropped her head into her hands.

Logan walked over and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I know," he whispered as she started to cry and he brushed a few tears away from her cheeks "but that's no reason to think that I am going to go chasing after other women, man I can hardly handle the one I've got" he joked.

Rory let out a little laugh. "I'm sorry. You must hate me right now" she said.

"Don't be silly, that's impossible, that's like hating Thumper. Nobody hates Thumper" he joked. "Seriously though Ace, this is the home stretch now, a few more weeks and we'll have our new baby in our arms and all this craziness will be forgotten."

Rory smiled at her husband. Logan always knew exactly how to make her feel better, even when she was acting like a mad woman.

"So you really want to know who the blonde was?" Logan said as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I...I don't know, do I?" she looked at him confused. Even though she now knew he wasn't cheating on her, she still wasn't sure what was going on.

"Come with me," he said as he took her by the hand and walked out of the Hartford office and down the street towards a realtor's office.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked but Logan didn't answer as he entered a building. As they walked in Rory spotted the blonde woman from the coffee shop.

"Mr Huntzberger," the blonde said as they walked in "I wasn't expecting to see you again today?"

"No" Logan smiled. "It's time to let my wife in on our little secret."

Rory looked from Logan to the blonde woman who introduced herself as Abigail Lewis, a Hartford realtor.

"It's lovely to finally meet you Mrs Huntzberger. I've heard an awful lot about you. Please, sit down" she gestured at the chairs next to her desk. "I'll just get the file."

Rory listened to Abigail and Logan as they explained what they had been up to over the past few weeks. While Rory had thought Logan had been sneaking around and getting up to no good he'd actually been buying a property in Martha's Vineyard as a present for her. He knew that this pregnancy had been really hard on her and he had wanted to do something special for so had been looking for the perfect holiday property for their little family to enjoy over the years.

"You bought me a house?" Rory said incredulously.

"Well technically speaking I bought us a house" he smiled and kissed her on the top of the head "but yes, I really bought it for you, I wanted to do something nice. You've had a rough few months and I thought it would cheer you up."

"Now I feel like a complete bitch. I accuse you of sleeping with someone else but all the time you've been busy trying to surprise me?"

"I know" Logan shook his head "You owe me big time." he laughed.

* * *

 ** _Six weeks later_**

Rory sat on the beach outside their new holiday home at the Vineyard. What she had thought was going to be a reasonably sized beach cottage actually turned out to be a huge waterfront family home with its own private beach. Rory didn't even want to know what this sprawling cape-style home with its seven bedrooms had cost – far too much she expected - but as soon as Logan had shown her round the property, she had completely fallen in love with it and it's impressive views of Nantucket Sound.

As she sat watching their daughter Lily playing happily in the sand with a bucket and spade, Rory knew that their little family would spend many happy summers here in the future. She sat looking out at the view, clutching her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees day-dreaming about what that future might look like.

"Someone was getting hungry"

Rory jumped a little at the sound of the voice behind her. She looked up to see Logan with their tiny newborn baby resting on his shoulder and she felt her insides turn a little mushy at the sight of her husband carrying the latest addition to the Huntzberger family in his arms. Logan leaned down and passed their newest daughter to Rory.

Sophia Honor Huntzberger had arrived in their life just a few weeks ago and it already felt like she'd always been there. Logan was absolutely thrilled with the newest lady in his life and being there for her birth was one of his proudest moments. He had been in total awe of Rory and the strength and dignity she had shown, and while at times it had felt a little bittersweet, reminding him of what he missed with Lily, he was so happy for having another opportunity. Even though Sophia was only a few weeks old, he was already hoping that they'd get to do it all again one day. He sat down on the sand next to Rory and Lily ran over and perched herself on his knee, planting a big kiss on her daddy's cheek.

Rory sat feeding baby Sophia and looked across at Logan and Lily who were play-fighting and wrestling gently on the sand. She felt a warm tingly feeling inside her as she contemplated what her life had become. Over the past year or two she'd had so many doubts and insecurities about the way her life was going and the decisions she was making, but right there in that moment, she knew that it was all playing out exactly the way it was meant to. It had been written in the stars. So she hadn't yet got the big career she wanted – she knew there was still plenty of time for that, and with Logan by her side, she felt like she could conquer the world. He was always going to be supportive of her desire to work and have a fulfilling career and she was confident that the right time would come for that. Right now, what she did have was so much more important to her – she had two beautiful daughters and a man who would walk to the ends of the earth to keep her happy. That was priceless.

Logan must have felt her eyes on him as he looked up at her from where he was being pinned to the ground by Lily and smiled. Rory leant down and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"I love you, Logan," she said as she pulled away.

He sat up and slipped his arm around her shoulder. "I love you too Ace," he said as he pulled her in and kissed her on the top of the head. "More than you'll ever know".

The end.

* * *

 **A/N: That's all folks! That's where I am leaving this story. I hope you have enjoyed it. I've been asked about doing a sequel to this and that is definitely a possibility. If you'd like this then do feel free to tell me what you might like to see happen in a sequel. In the meantime, my next story has gone live and you can find that on here - Still Falling For You (Gilmore Girls). Thanks for all the reviews ❤️**


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